The Winds of Change
by Leena Valtapaz
Summary: After a seemingly routine battle, Lewa starts to become more distant from his Toa self. Once the Toa figure out why, they fall into more trouble than they bargained for. Takes place after the Skull Raider battle, before the Toas' Uniter upgrade. One-sided Tahu/Gali. Rated T for detailed violence and implied language.
1. Room for Change

"Toa! We have an attack coming from the northeast, ETA three minutes and counting!"

If nobody had interrupted Kopaka from a nap again, it would be too soon. Shuffling to his feet, he walked to the battlements outside. He grumbled to himself the whole way.

"Our scout has spotted three wolves approaching the city," Onua explained as Kopaka entered. "Tahu has suggested a defense strategy—ah, greetings, Kopaka. Regarding this, I encourage you to listen and build upon it."

"Well said," Tahu replied with a quick nod. "Here's what we'll do: we'll run at the wolves while they're still far away. If our charging doesn't scare them off, we kill them."

Kopaka rolled his eyes. _Always count on Tahu to run into the heat of battle._

Tahu noticed. "Do you think you have a better idea? If you do, you're probably wrong."

Onua folded his arms. "Tahu, please be civil."

"In principle, I agree with Tahu," Kopaka forced himself to say. "Allow me to expand on that by having us split up—two Toa for each wolf. I recommend these groups to be Tahu and Pohatu, Lewa and Onua, and Gali and me."

"Why _you_ and Gali?" The question came from Lewa.

Kopaka turned to him with an expression saying he'd explained this for the eighth time. "Because, _Lewa,_ water and ice are most compatible together."

"Take _that_ out of context," Lewa muttered. Gali elbowed him sharply.

"Any objections?" Kopaka said unnecessarily loudly. "If so, say it quickly. Every second not battling evil is a wasted second."

The Toa all muttered sounds of approval— Onua quietly complimented Kopaka's last sentence.

Tahu straightened himself, tearing his lavaboard gloriously into his signature Fire Blades. "Then what are we standing around here for? _Attack!"_

* * *

Onua smashed his Earthquake Hammer against the first wolf. It fell to the ground with a howl of pain, and Lewa quickly ended its misery.

Meanwhile, Tahu set a ring of fire around the second, while Pohatu flung his Stormerang through the fire. It didn't miss its mark. Tahu charged into the flames with a defiant roar, and within seconds the creature's own roars had ceased.

Kopaka and Gali had begun to lure the final wolf away from the city bridge. This wolf had led the others, and as such had gone farthest.

But it would soon regret ever attempting to attack the place the Toa held dear. Gali took a brief glance at Kopaka, who gave her a curt nod. Both raised their weapons.

"Looks like you two need a hand!"

Lewa swooped in, catching both wolf and Toa off-guard. He dealt a swift, well-aimed kick to the wolf, which in turn bit into his leg, throwing him to the ground and forcing a pained cry from him.

Kopaka countered with a swift thrust of his spear. It gouged straight through the heart of the beast, which didn't make a sound as it crumpled to the ground.

As Kopaka tried to dislodge his spear, Gali pulled Lewa from the wolf's jaws. "Are you okay?" she said, her voice soft as she held him in her arms.

Lewa's faintly glowing eyes looked into hers. He gave her a weak, lopsided grin. "I knew you cared."

Gali dropped him.

* * *

"He shouldn't try any wild stunts for a few days," Kiril said, wrapping the last of the bandage around Lewa's leg. "He heals fast, so it shouldn't take more than two days—let me know if it takes longer. Alright, Lewa, you're good to go."

"We do appreciate your help," Onua said, patting Kiril's head with a truly enormous hand.

Kiril smiled. "It's an honor." He turned to Lewa. "Remember not to push yourself. You don't want that wound to open."

"Yeah, yeah," Lewa replied, stretching his arms over his head casually.

"Lewa, I _mean_ it." Kiril grabbed Lewa's shoulder with surprising force. "Not only will it mean more work for me, but it also won't exactly be _peachy_ on your side. So _don't_ push it."

Lewa stayed silent for many moments. Finally, he said, "Well, I won't try to."

"Try _not_ to."

* * *

The sounds of ceremonial horns resounded throughout the region, signifying a festival would begin soon.

The city itself buzzed with activity. Villagers chatted about the Toas' victory against the wolves, which the protectors had skinned and would give away to the local children and elders, and to chosen adults if they ended up with extra.

Near the forge, the Toa conversed about mostly trivial matters. _To me,_ Lewa thought, _trivial's just a fancy word for_ boring _._

He stood up, yawning widely. Then he stopped—his mouth abruptly snapped shut. A feeling of uneasiness crept across his skin, and his breathing became short and sharp. His injured leg quivered, almost caving in on him.

"Lewa?" Onua asked, killing a conversation that had to do with how much he could break in a day. "Are you alright?" he continued. "You look rather ill."

Lewa tried to slow his breathing. It didn't work. "Yeah, I'm good. Just needing some fresh air. It's stuffy in here."

Onua nodded. "Understandable. Why don't you go out and fly for a bit? There's still a sliver of sunlight before night falls. Just be sure not to miss the feast—it starts in a little less than an hour."

"Gotcha. Thanks." Lewa started to leave, stumbling a little.

"Try not to use your bad leg, okay?" Gali said, seeing Lewa struggle.

Lewa's breathing grew faster against his will. "Yeah, 'f course. I'll be careful…"

* * *

The outdoor air blew against Lewa's skin, fresh and calm. Lewa relaxed, taking in a deep breath, then letting it out slowly. _Marvelous weather,_ he thought to himself. He turned to the setting sun, where he marveled at its beauty. It glowed in a faint honeylike color, and the skies around it were a beautiful gradient of yellow and periwinkle, ending in a smooth shade of indigo. Not a cloud showed its face. He sat down and watched the sun set until it disappeared.

After the sun had sunk, Lewa turned away. The moment he did so, he felt his heart pound against his ribs, and he didn't even know _why_. It felt as if he were anticipating someone's return… or arrival.

Lewa remembered he had wanted to fly. Right, _that_ was what had excited him so much. Spreading his arms out wide, he took a running jump and flipped up into the sky, spinning and swirling in midair

The air seemed fresher and crisper than usual. Lewa relaxed, allowing the light breeze to take him wherever it blew. He noticed a moon. It glowed proudly, bright and beautiful. And such a dazzling white… it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

For some reason Lewa's heart began to pound harder than ever—this time he felt sure it wasn't something he'd forgotten. His face felt oddly cramped against his mask. His injured leg began to twitch.

Lewa would remember the panic as he lost control of his flight. But he couldn't for the life of him recall what happened next.

* * *

"Well, it's too far away to hurt anyone. No sign of Lewa, though."

"Can't you scan again, Kopaka?"

"Gali, what do you think I've been doing for the last minute?" Kopaka turned around in a circle. He shook his head. "Nothing but birds and that other…" After searching for a word, he gave up. "That other thing."

Tahu arched an eyebrow. "Maybe that 'thing' is _Lewa_."

Kopaka shook his head again. "Impossible. It's on four legs."

"Lewa giving a piggyback ride?"

"Why, yes. You're a genius, of course it is. There's no other explanation. Thank you."

"You're welcome!"

"Amazing. Somehow, even with it spread as thick as I could layer it, the sarcasm I put into my sentence wasn't as thick as your skull."

Tahu's lavaboard lit up with heat as he tore it in half. "Someone's asking for a cracked mask!"

"Not like you could give me one," answered Kopaka smugly. "I could personally show you how."

"Quiet," Pohatu said. "Kopaka, scan for that creature again, will you?"

"Sure, stop the fight when _I_ threaten him…" Kopaka activated his lens, looking toward the southeast. His eyebrow arched. "Interesting. It's gotten itself stuck in what looks like a bramble bush. Its leg's been cut in various places."

Onua put a hand to his chin. "This may be obvious, but did it mean to do that?"

"No, it appears it slipped into it."

Tahu folded his arms. "The same way _you_ slipped a few weeks ago?"

Kopaka ignored him. "It's pulled itself out of the thorns. Posture looks odd."

"Can you focus on its appearance?" asked Gali.

"I'll try. But I need to get closer."

* * *

"Lewa!"

"LEEEE-WAAAH! Wake UUUH-UUP!"

"Tahu, that _really_ isn't helping."

Lewa moaned, blinking his eyes open. The Toa surrounded him, worried looks in their eyes.

Gali sighed. "We're so glad we could find you. What in the world happened?"

"I dunno," Lewa said, sleepiness slurring his words. "I was flying or sightseeing—someth'n like that. Guess I crashed."

The Toa shared a significant glance.

Pohatu bent down. "Lewa, what are you holding?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, this little—Whah!" Lewa jerked his hand backward, dropping what he held.

Gali shuddered. "Don't tell me that's a _tweeper!"_

"It is," Kopaka said solemnly, activating his lens. "From the looks of it, a clawed creature killed it."

"Any particular creature?" asked Pohatu.

"That's just it," Kopaka replied, his voice wavering. "All over this bird, particularly in the claw marks…" Turning off his visor, he faced the Toa. "There's Lewa's BNA."

Gali shrugged. "He _was_ holding it."

"But it's _deep_ in the marks. So either Lewa just _happened_ to stick his finger into a dead bird, he killed it, or someone framed him. My guess is the latter."

"Sound enough," Tahu conceded. "What do you say, Lewa?… Lewa? Are you even awake?"

Lewa, in fact, wasn't. He lay sound asleep on the forest floor.

Onua wrapped his arms around him, lifting him up with ease. "Poor Lewa. He must feel exhausted. Tahu, may I take Lewa to his room so he can rest?"

Tahu nodded. "Of course, go ahead. Thank you, Onua."

"It's no trouble. I'll also make some tea for when Lewa wakes up."

Tahu couldn't help but smile. "You know, your heart is bigger than yourself sometimes—which really says something."

Onua laughed. "Ho ho ho! I'm glad you think that, Tahu. Now then," he said, turning away, "I'd best be going. Cheers!"

* * *

"I dunno why," Lewa mumbled as Onua tucked him into bed, "but I'm jus' reeeally tiirred. Hungry, too."

Onua pulled the covers up. "Don't you worry—I'm going to make you some tea and a snack, and then you'll feel all better. While I get it ready, why not take a little nap? Then you'll feel fresh and ready."

Lewa smiled. "M-hm. Thanks a lot…" Before Onua even stood up, Lewa had fallen asleep.

 _Poor dear,_ Onua thought. He walked to the kitchen, where he prepared a mug of tea. He added extra sugar.

While the tea steeped, he opened the cupboard, taking out a plate. Choosing with care, he took an assortment of salad, meat, and fruit. He briefly wondered whether Lewa would prefer orange or bonnotoboe, then settled for the third option of an apple. Who didn't like apples?

Onua didn't forget the tea. Setting the apple on its plate, he picked up the mug and looked inside. It had a deep, green color, smelling of jasmine and peach. He took an experimental sip. It tasted a little too sugary for him, but he knew how Lewa liked sweet things. He would _love_ this.

Smiling at the thought, Onua began the walk to Lewa's room, singing a traditional Okotan song to himself.

He stopped, almost bumping into Kopaka. "Ah, hello, Kopaka. I hadn't expected you to return so soon."

"What else was there to _do_?" replied Kopaka. "The only worthwhile thing we _did_ was scan the area for more of Lewa's BNA."

"And?"

"As strange as it sounds, I found some in a nearby bramble bush."

"Hold on," Onua said, setting the tea down. "You mentioned—early last evening—you had mentioned a creature trapping itself in some brambles, hadn't you?"

"Exactly. And there aren't any _other_ bushes nearby, so this is the same bush. What's more, the only BNA from the last 24 hours on that bush was from Lewa."

"So it's not just the same bush…"

Kopaka, hearing Onua's voice drift off, finished his sentence. "It's the same creature."

* * *

"I still don't get it," Tahu complained. " _I'm_ the leader here, aren't I? So why are we all letting _Kopaka_ push us around?"

Pohatu said nothing. Spirit knows what went on in _his_ head.

Tahu glared. "Whose side _are_ you on?"

Again, no response. The Toa of Stone continued to stare at the ground. Eventually, he said, "You have a point. Now, look at these."

Tahu felt quite put out at Pohatu's abrupt subject change, but all the same bent down to see where he pointed. "Pawprints," he said. "But they're not headed toward the city."

Pohatu nodded. "They're pointing to that suspicious crowd of trees."

"That must be their secret base!"

"Won't be secret for long."

As the Toa followed the pawprints, they noticed two separate sets going in similar directions. They kept track of all three paths, which intersected right at—

"The middle of nowhere." Pohatu let out an annoyed sigh. "This was all pointless."

Tahu stared. "Are you _serious_? We didn't come here for nothing, Pohatu—I'm sure there's at least _one_ interesting thing here. For example, the tracks—where do they go?"

"They all disappear at roughly the same point. Interesting."

"Not just that. Maybe the wolves don't even disappear. They just get into their secret lair, waiting until the sun falls…"

Pohatu put a hand to his chin. "As ridiculous as it sounds, that's a fair guess. And now that I look at it, the tracks all deliberately stop around this area here." He traced a circle in the dirt. "Hm. Feels like there are grooves in here."

"Let's crash the party, then, shall we?" Tahu grabbed the grooves Pohatu had mentioned and tore off… a lid?

Pohatu inhaled sharply. "Tahu, don't—!"

But Tahu had already jumped into the dark pit. Pohatu leaned over the edge, looking into the darkness. He held his breath, listening for the faintest sound.

Without warning, a bright red streak flew out of the hole, catching Pohatu off-guard. Less than a second later, Tahu fell to the ground with a clatter.

"You alright?" asked Pohatu, helping Tahu to his feet.

Tahu coughed. "I think so. Everything passed so quickly… but I'm okay."

"Glad to hear it."

CLANG.

"Oww! What was _that_ for?"

"Don't do that again."

* * *

"Lewa? Are you awake?"

Lewa stirred at Onua's voice. "Yeah," he said tiredly. "Why?"

"Well, you certainly sound better," Onua said, setting a patterned mug on a nearby side table. "I have your tea ready. Would you like it now?"

"Sure, sure," Lewa said, smiling.

Onua nodded, handing him the tea. "I hope I didn't wake you up. How did you sleep?"

"Pretty well," Lewa said. "I kept having this weird dream where I was in a field, but it was made of fur." He took a sip of tea. "Sweet."

"I thought you would like it," Onua said, beaming. "As soon as you're finished, shall I bring you that snack? It has fruit, greens, and meat." He noted Lewa's eyes light up at the last word.

"Could you bring it up now?" Lewa asked. "I clean forgot how hungry I was after that nap."

"Of course. I'll get it right away."

As Onua headed to the kitchen, he couldn't help thinking about what Kopaka had said. _It can't be possible,_ he tried to tell himself. _Unless Lewa was pulling a cruel joke on us all. But no, he'd never go this far… And earlier, he appeared ill. Perhaps that's connected._

It didn't take him long to find the plate. As he picked it up, he noticed Kopaka directly in front of him. He appeared to be silently judging the plate. "Greetings again, Kopaka," Onua said. "You should try to announce your presence more—you almost startled me. Is something the matter?"

Kopaka took the slab of meat from the plate, letting it dangle from his fingers. "You're feeding him _this?"_

"Well… yes," Onua admitted. "Lewa needs energy, and meat helps with that."

"Helps him, or the creature?"

"Sorry?"

"Will the meat give Lewa energy," said Kopaka with narrowed eyes, "or are you awakening the beast within?"

Onua blinked many times. "I don't think I follow. How can you be so sure this creature is a carnivore?"

"Before Tahu, Pohatu and I parted ways, I scanned the BNA in the tweeper and bush. Both had their respective BNA, as well as some of Lewa's. While scanning the bush, I found Lewa's blood, but it had another animal's BNA. I've sorted through the genetic databases in my lens, and no herbivores match up. In short," Kopaka finished, "this creature didn't strictly eat plants."

"So a four-legged meat-eater," said Onua. "When you saw the creature for the first time, did you know its size?"

Kopaka's expression became blank as he thought. "Judging by the distance," he said, "it was around Lewa's size, perhaps smaller."

Onua nodded, hand to his chin. "Maybe with more information put together, we can figure out what it was."

"Good idea. I'll see if I can find more evidence. But until then, I'd advise not to feed Lewa any meat." Finally putting down the meat slab, Kopaka turned around and left.

With a deep sigh, Onua took the meat from the plate, setting it inside a cooling chamber in the wall. He then began walking again to his friend's room. He stayed silent the entire way.

* * *

Tahu stumbled along until he nearly knocked into Gali. He managed to keep himself upright, groaning.

Gali quickly put her arm around Tahu's back. "What happened?!"

"Ah-arrh… Don't worry…" Tahu said, straining his voice. "I was… gyrrh… jumping into the th-thick of battle…" This was, in fact, true—for the most part. Tahu had jumped, and he guessed it was in the thick of battle since everything had passed so fast.

But Gali's expression, at first concerned, changed to unconvinced. "Do you really need help _that_ badly?"

Tahu staggered. "N-no… I'm fine…" He coughed a little too purposefully. "Just that my… my back—"

"Needs a massage?" Gali finished. "Come on, you're a Toa." She let her arm fall to her side, smiling. "Maybe I'd give you one if you didn't make up excuses."

Straightening, Tahu sighed. "Sorry. Now I feel like an idiot."

Gali rested a hand on Tahu's shoulder. "Don't be so hard on yourself. Nobody's perfect, Tahu—but you should still try. Anyway," she said, taking her hand off him, "I have to help Paleti with her spring problem. See you later."

"Wait!"

Gali stopped as she was turning. "Yes?"

"Well… the thing is, my back actually _is_ rather sore. So if… if it's not too much trouble…"

Gali smiled. "This afternoon."

* * *

"Hiya!" said Lewa cheerily as Onua opened the door. "This tea's absolutely _amazing!_ What's the flavor? Ooh, is that the snack? _Epic!"_

Onua made a mental note to not include caffeine in anything when serving Lewa. "Yes, it is. Dig in!"

Lewa practically leaped straight from the bed to Onua's side, scanning through the dish with his eyes. "Er… not to sound nitpicky, but… why's all these things plants?"

Onua blinked. "Aren't you a Toa of Jungle?"

"Well—yeah," Lewa said haltingly. "But I mean, that's kinda the point. It's like I'm eating my own kind, y'know?"

"You are what you eat, as they say. Gali drinks water, and—"

"I don't remember eating myself."

Onua stared. Lewa grinned. Both threw back their heads in laughter.

* * *

"CALLED IT."

Kopaka let out a long sigh. "I do not think it necessary to rub your 'victory' in my face, Tahu."

"But I said so," said Tahu smugly, "and you didn't believe me."

"While you were correct in saying that was Lewa," Kopaka said, "it still technically was neither his mind nor his body."

"Techenally, shmekenally. I'm still right."

"Yes," Kopaka said slowly. "Yes, you are."

"We need to go back to their base." It was Pohatu who said this.

Tahu turned to the Toa of Stone. "We saw all there is to see. Also, do you know how to be _nice_ when interrupting a conversation?"

Kopaka smirked. "That was a conversation?"

Pohatu ignored their last sentences, saying, "Tahu, did you see anything in the seconds you were in the base?"

"Look who's playing detective," Tahu said. "It was pitch-black—that I remember. But everything went by really quickly. I'm pretty sure there was more than one wolf, though."

"There were wolves in there?" said Pohatu.

"Yeah—more than one was in front of me, but the cave—I'm guessing it was a cave—the cave was humongous, so who knows how many there are?"

"Well," Kopaka said, standing, "There are the three we defeated. Assuming the tracks you two found were different from the other that attacked, and including the two Tahu saw—"

"I never said there were two—just more than one!"

"At the _minimum,_ there were two. Now, added together, we have at least five wolves alive—six, if you include Lewa."

Pohatu stiffened. "Lewa? What happened to him?"

"A wolf happened," Kopaka said gravely. "Last night, both the moons were full. And now that I think of it, Lewa didn't look comfortable."

"Hold on," Tahu said. "You're saying Lewa's a… a werewolf or something? How does that even work?"

"It shouldn't." Kopaka walked to the door. "But if you're right, Lewa's going to change again tonight. Before that happens—"

"We need to find and create a cure," Tahu finished.

"Exactly. Were you hurt while in the cave?"

"No, unless dizziness counts."

Kopaka nodded in satisfaction. "Good. Pohatu, can you create lightstones?"

"That's more Onua's thing," Pohatu answered, "but yes."

"Great." Kopaka opened the door. "I think we should pay those wolves a visit."


	2. To Overlook

"So, Lewa," Onua said hesitantly. He had finally convinced him that a Toa of Jungle that eating plants _didn't_ count as cannibalism, and wanted Lewa to finish swallowing at least a mouthful of salad before bringing up a potentially sore subject.

"Yeah," Lewa asked, though salad muffled the word. He swallowed. "What's up?"

Onua took a deep breath. "Do you remember what happened just before you woke up on the woods?"

Lewa's face contorted in concentration. "I'm guessing I was asleep, but before that, I was just flying around. I remember…" He smiled, but it seemed different from the way he usually did. "The moon. It was so big and bright—did you see the pure whiteness? I think it's the most beautiful thing in the world—or rather, _out of_ it." He grinned at his own little joke.

Onua sighed deeply. "Do you… do you remember anything else?"

"Huh…" Lewa shut his eyes. "Well… yeah, sort of. I began to feel really weird. Then my leg started to feel sore or something. I think that was when I crashed—yeah. I remember the panic and everything." His voice cracked a little as he said the last sentence. He made an attempt at a smile. "Boy, am I glad that's over."

A wave of pity washed over Onua, flooding his heart. "How does your leg feel now?"

Lewa shrugged. "I mean, I can jump around without it hurting too much."

"Does it still hurt now?"

"Well… now that you mention it, a little, I guess."

Onua almost rolled his eyes, but sighed instead. After all, rolling your eyes at someone was just plain rude. "How about I take a look at it?"

"NO!" Lewa jumped backward, ducking behind his bed.

Onua jumped as well, but in a startled was—it was more a large flinch than anything else. He hesitated. "Why not?"

Lewa stepped out from behind his bed, looking stunned. "I… I don't know why I did that," he said quietly. "I'm really sorry."

"It's alright. You simply startled me."

"Ah, good. I mean, not good that I scared you, but good that, you know… good that you're okay." Lewa sat in bed awkwardly, silent. "Um… you can check my leg if you want."

Onua nodded. "Very well. Can you put your leg up?"

"Sure." Lewa practically flung his leg high into the air, slamming it on Onua's knee like a sledgehammer.

Onua laughed. "Not so hard next time, please!"

"Sorry," Lewa replied sheepishly. "Don't know my own strength—what was in that tea? Power berries?"

Onua chuckled as he unfastened Lewa's leg armor. "It's my own blend."

"That explains _your_ strength."

The Toa of Earth smiled in reply. But his smile faded when he looked at the armor he was holding. Multiple tiny tear marks—most likely from thorns—had scratched straight through the armor. He looked at Lewa's leg. The skin looked bruised and raw, and a few spots were open. The bandages Kiril had put on were nowhere to be seen. "Oh my," Onua whispered.

"'Oh my' what? I probably crashed through a few spiky branches when I fell."

Onua looked up as Lewa spoke. "Did you remove Kiril's wrappings?"

Lewa stared into space, as if looking at nothing would jostle his memory. "No," he said eventually. "Maybe it fell off, or a branch or something tore it off."

"Whatever it was, we should get some new ones—more than before, actually." Onua set down Lewa's leg. "But or now, you need to get some rest."

Lewa exhaled sharply. "Again? Come on, I feel way better. It's not my fault I crashed."

"I know," Onua sighed. "I shouldn't have suggested you flying around when I knew your leg was injured."

"It was sure fun, though. My heart was beating like crazy."

"All the more reason for you to get some rest—you need to calm yourself."

"Yes, 'Mother,'" Lewa sighed, getting into bed. "But seriously, I feel completely normal—that is, apart from my leg—seriously, it's like you're sticking me in a krrrr."

Onua blinked. "What did you say?"

"A cage," Lewa allegedly repeated. "It's like putting a wolf in a kennel when he was a good boy."

"You're saying someone would keep a wolf as a pet? That doesn't sound safe."

"Dog. Sorry. I meant dog, I said wolf. Man, for some reason I just keep on doing that. Weird."

* * *

By the time the three Toa reached the hole, dirt had accumulated around it, adding a good fifteen seconds to their search.

"There it is—finally." Tahu brushed some dirt away. "Someone must have been here. I can't see any tracks, though."

"Not even the pawprints," Pohatu noted. "But that looks like wind. Kopaka, how far down is it?"

Kopaka put a hand to his lens, turning one of its dials. He closed one eye, scanning the distance with the other. "Not far at all," he said mildly. "Around seven meters."

"Great," Tahu said, reaching for his swords.

"Slow down," said Kopaka, "and listen for a change. We're here to collect info, not start a war. What did I just say?"

Tahu grunted in annoyance. "We're here for info, not for fun."

"Close enough. Pohatu, lightstones?"

"Right here," Pohatu replied, handing Kopaka two large crystals, each a little larger than his hand. "Tahu can make his own light," he said, seeing Kopaka's confused expression.

"That's no excuse for having me use up my power!" Tahu said heatedly.

Pohatu turned to Tahu sternly. "Each stone took ten minutes to make – I created them in advance. I'm still not at my strongest after making them. Creating a fireball takes less than a second, and we'll be in that cave for far less than the time it took me to make those stones. Who's the one complaining?"

"You, kind of."

"Not the point. Besides, we couldn't wait any longer—to make a new lightstone would waste too much time. It's almost half an hour until the sun sets."

Tahu turned to the sun, shielding his eyes with a hand. "Already? Oh, cliff cultures. I'll miss Gali."

Kopaka stiffened, but his voice was calm as he spoke. "What, you had something scheduled?"

Tahu folded his arms. "It doesn't have anything to do with you, whatever you think it is." Then he added as an afterthought, "Get your mind out of the gutter."

Kopaka's fist tightened. "I was thinking nothing of the kind. But knowing how you can be after a few seidu drinks, I wouldn't exclude the possibility."

Tahu's mouth fell open. He stammered a few moments before stopping, staring in stunned silence.

Pohatu landed a hand on Kopaka's shoulder—hard. "That was uncalled for."

"You don't care about what Tahu said?" Kopaka replied curtly.

Pohatu's eyes narrowed to slits. He let go of Kopaka's shoulder with a rough push. "You're Toa," he said, addressing both. "It would do you both well to start acting the part." Then, snatching one of the lightstones from Kopaka's hand, he made his way into the darkness.

Tahu recovered from his shock, but remained uncharacteristically silent. The only sounds from him were a snapping of fingers and the quiet whoosh of a fireball. After a quick dirty look at Kopaka, he jumped down the hole. The sounds following were a metal clatter and voices:

"Tahu!"

"It wasn't my fault—you were in the way!"

Kopaka made a long, annoyed sigh. As much as he despised the Toa of Fire, what he had said was equally hateful. Sooner or later, he would have to apologize—but that would mean starting a conversation, which, unlike most other things, he was utterly tactless at.

"What are you standing around for?" called Pohatu's voice. A hand waved, the lightstone it held illuminating it.

"Don't rush me," Kopaka called back. Gripping his own lightstone tightly in his hand, he took a leap, and the darkness closed in from all sides. He quickly realized seven meters were longer than he'd previously expected them to—

CRUNCH.

Pain shot up Kopaka's legs with the force of a thunderclap. He collapsed completely, losing his grip on the glowing crystal. Hands reached out and grabbed onto him, while voices called his name, among other words he couldn't process. He fought off the urge to black out, but after less than a minute he couldn't bear it any longer.

As he drifted into darkness, his mind said a sentence he would hopefully remember. It said:

"Bend your legs next time, idiot."

* * *

"No, no, we're losing him! Hang in there, hang in there…" But despite Tahu's qualms, Kopaka's eyes faded until they clicked off.

Pohatu put a hand in front of Kopaka's mask. "Breathing, at least," he said. "But he can't stay here."

"You didn't have to tell me that," Tahu scoffed. "We don't have to leave him back at our house, though, do we?"

"My thoughts exactly," said Pohatu, grabbing Kopaka by the ankles. In an almost perfunctory way, he flung the Toa of Ice over his shoulders. "Pick up my lightstone, will you?"

Tahu nodded, and his fireball disappeared. He took Pohatu's lightstone, holding it close to him. "I'll lead the way."

"Lead away. Just make sure not to step in anything you'll regret."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Just watch your step. There are animals here, and where there are animals—"

"There are the remains of their prey."

"That's a graceful way to put it, but yes."

Tahu grimaced. "Yeugh. Let's get through this place as fast as we can."

"I'm not too fond of this place, myself."

"Exactly, Pohatu."

Pohatu blinked. "I'm not disagreeing with your point, but I didn't say anything like that."

Tahu scratched the back of his head, as if doing so would clear up his confusion. "No. I clearly heard you say something along the lines of 'I'm not exactly fond of this place, either.' Don't you remember?"

Pohatu shook his head. "I never said that. Maybe Kopaka did—he must have recovered consciousness by now." Turning his gaze to Kopaka, he squeezed his wrist.

"He'll never wake up."

"Don't say that—I'm still checking."

"Don't say what?" asked Tahu. "Are you talking to him?"

Pohatu blinked a few times, trying to figure out Tahu's import. "No," he said slowly, "I was replying to what you had said."

"What did I say? I don't remember asking something that had a reply like that."

"Kopaka didn't speak," Pohatu said, "and neither did I. Who else could have said, 'He'll never wake up'?"

Tahu jerked back as if the words had physically pushed him. "I may hate him, but I wouldn't ever _want_ him to die. Not like this, anyway," he added quietly.

Pohatu stiffened. "What do you mean by 'Not like this'?

"Doesn't matter," Tahu said. "Just a healthy bit of rivalry."

"Rivalry is always healthy."

Tahu smirked. "That was sarcasm, wasn't it?"

"I didn't know you could be sarcastic," Pohatu replied, setting Kopaka down.

"What?" Tahu said, confused. "I wasn't being sarcastic, _you_ were."

"I hadn't said anything," Pohatu said. "There's probably more to this place than meets the eye."

"You mean like _my_ eyes?" said a voice.

Tahu didn't have the time to turn around when something scratched straight across his back, sending a stinging, pulsing surge of pain throughout his entire body. Taking a shuddering breath, he whipped his hands behind him, reaching for his swords. Sharp teeth answered, biting deeply into his wrist. A wolf's howl of triumph echoed through the cave—and its howl of pain followed. Then, silence.

Pohatu yanked his dagger out of the beast's stomach. After wiping off most of the blood from the blade, he sheathed it.

Tahu clutched his wrist, eyes shut tight. His hand was twitching uncontrollably.

"Stupid," Pohatu said quietly. "All of us were stupid enough to not bring healing tools. Every single one of us. Idiots." He continued to say such things as he lugged up Tahu, letting him lean on his shoulder. He kept cursing—though it was more like incoherent muttering by now—while he dragged Kopaka to his feet.

Kopaka's lens clicked for a second. He groaned. "Bend my legs, I know…" He looked up. "How long was I out?"

Now it was Pohatu's turn to groan. "Oh, so _now_ you wake up: just after one of those wolves almost killed Tahu."

"Almost kil—!" Kopaka shook off Pohatu's arm, rushing to Tahu's side. "Did anyone bring healing tools?"

"No. That's why I've been swearing my—"

"Look," Kopaka said.

"—off this entire… What is it?" Pohatu said, exasperated.

Kopaka turned to Pohatu, looking scandalized. But he quickly recovered a neutral expression. "There's some dim light coming from that tunnel—it looks like moonlight."

"An exit," Pohatu thought aloud. "Let's go."

"Light," Tahu whispered, eyes still shut. "Bring me to… the light…"

"That's the idea," said Kopaka. He frowned slightly. "Pohatu, wait," he said, turning to the Toa of Stone. "How can we be sure Tahu won't be affected in any way?"

Pohatu's eyebrow arched. "By?"

"The moonlight," Kopaka pressed. "He's obviously hurt, and Lewa was hurt, too. A wolf attacked both Lewa _and Tahu—_ that carcass in the corner tells me that much—and you know what happened to Lewa."

Pohatu frowned. "We need medical help as soon as possible—it slices through his back armor like a sword through fruit. You should know that, what with your lens. Besides, more wolves could find us in here. It's safer to leave—it makes fewer opportunities for those things to claw us, too."

"Li-ight," Tahu gasped, stumbling toward the tunnel.

Kopaka folded his arms. "Fine," he said begrudgingly, "but just in case, we should at least remove his mask. Then, if he _does_ change, he'll at least be less powerful. We can put it back on once he's inside if he isn't affected."

"Sound enough," Pohatu replied. Turning to Tahu, he called his name and was about to request he come over, but Tahu had disappeared. Pohatu's eyes widened. "The Okotans," he breathed.

Before Kopaka could say anything, the Toa of Stone took off, a tornado of sand covering his legs. Kopaka made no hesitation in creating his own method of transport. Tearing his shield in two and throwing it to the ground, he stepped into the built-in footholds… then got off, rotated them _the right_ way and put them on. He was testing their durability, of course. Obviously.

Reaching his spear out toward the ground, Kopaka felt a little elemental power go from him to the ground, which froze instantly. He pushed off the ground with his spear, and soon he was sliding by at unimaginable speeds.

He skidded to a stop, finding Tahu in front of him. They were both a few meters away from the exit, which Pohatu appeared to be guarding.

Tahu was quivering more than ever. His voice shook as much as his body as he said, "Light… I need… need _light_ …"

Kopaka picked up his shield, snapping it together. "I don't like the darkness either, but trust me. It's safer this way."

"Trust… yyyou…" Tahu made a weak attempt at a laugh. It sounded more like quiet coughing. "After _aahll_ these yearss… you say I should… should trrrust… _you?"_

Kopaka's arched eyebrow hid well his growing fear. "Yes, I _do_ say. You're not being yourself, Tahu—snap _out of it_."

Tahu cough-laughed again, not noticing the Toa of Ice approaching him. "Nnno. I sayy _you're_ the one to ssnap… when I snap your— Ohh…"

Tahu collapsed to the floor in a helpless heap. Kopaka, holding the Golden Mask of Fire, put it behind his back. "Sorry about that."

The Toa of Fire looked as if he would cry out from sheer frustration, but instead remained scarcely awake on the ground, speaking garbled words. Some sounded suspiciously like "moon," "free," and "grow."

Kopaka stepped closer to his comrade. Tahu's words seemed clearer now—he was saying two sentences, over and over again. After listening around five times, Kopaka pieced together the words:

" _The moonlight frees us. We must grow the pack."_

* * *

"C'mon, Onua! Why _not?_ " Lewa folded his arms, pouting.

Onua sighed. "Only one moon is out this night, so it'll be darker—I don't want you to trip. Not to mention tonight will be far chillier than the last. Besides, I'm worried about you. The last time you want out this late, you—"

"Hurt myself, I know, I know," Lewa replied. "Okay, what about ten minutes? It'll take at least that long to grow the pack."

"The pack?"

"Yeah, my pack—like a six-pack. Gotta stretch those abs at some point, amirite?" Lewa grinned at his joke, but his smile disappeared as fast as it had come. "But the moons—even just one—it's like it… what's the word… it frees us, y'know? It unlocks the stuff inside us, makes us grow stronger. Why, if I could go outside for just one minute…" He started to tremble at the sheer concept. "Then you'd see my true potential."

Onua could hardly believe what he was hearing. "I'm sorry, he said, bowing his head apologetically. "But I can't allow you to go."

Lewa's arms became tense—he almost shook with resentment. "You just can't take a hint. I _need_ to go out there. They're calling me, they need me!"

Onua stepped back against the door. He reached behind his back to lock it. "Who are you talking about? Who are 'they'?"

Lewa grabbed his head. Even from the other end of the room, Onua could hear his breaths—they were short and sharp, as if he were in pain. "I… I don't know, but—but I need to go out there, okay? I need to meet them—I have to be free. Just leave me alone!"

Onua reached behind him. Making no sudden movements, he took out his hammer. "I'm afraid I can't do that, Lewa," he said slowly.

Did Lewa _wince_ at his name being called? "You… you really don't get it. I need to be out there, out with the light, okay?" As he spoke, he noticed the closed shades at the window.

Onua followed Lewa's gaze. "No…" Dropping his hammer, he made a single bound across the room just as Lewa was opening the shades. Unfortunately, the Toa of Earth hadn't thought about the landing, but at least he didn't land _on top of_ Lewa. He crashed into him, knocking both into the wall.

The Toa of Earth climbed out of the rubble, brushing himself off. Turning around, he asked, "Are you alright, Lewa? I didn't mean to hurt you."

Lewa heaved a large plank of wood and plaster off himself with surprising ease. "Stop _calling_ me that! Lee-wuh, lee-wuh, lee-wuh. It's stupid!"

"Well," Onua said, keeping his voice steady and calm, "what shall I call you, then?"

"Not I," Lewa replied, grinning like a lunatic. "Us. It's _us…_ the moonlight frees us. We must grow the pack." Lewa's smile disappeared—it was as if an invisible force had torn it clean away, revealing a neutral, unemotional expression. Lewa paid no heed to Onua, acting as if he didn't exist. "The moonlight frees us," he said tonelessly. "We must grow the pack. The moonlight frees us. We must grow the pack…" His mantra grew louder as he approached the window shades.

"Lewa, please don't make me have to hurt you." For the first time, Onua's voice shook as he grabbed Lewa's wrist.

Lewa made a snarling noise, twisting his arm around so Onua couldn't keep holding on without hurting himself.

But Onua kept his grip. "I can't let you hurt anyone."

* * *

"…must grow the pack. The moonlight frees us," Tahu continued mumbling. Or rather, Kopaka thought grimly, the creature that _was_ Tahu. At least he couldn't hurt anyone—even if the city was close by, Tahu's body was maskless. But even so, both Pohatu and Kopaka kept a wary eye on him.

Kopaka finally tore his eyes away. "This doesn't make any sense. Tahu wasn't in the moonlight at all, yet…" He didn't finish his sentence, shaking his head in frustration.

Pohatu kept his gaze. "Check him with your scanner. From the looks of it, only his mind's changed."

"Good idea," Kopaka replied, deciding now wasn't the time to correct Pohatu. It was a _visor,_ not a _scanner_. "Sure enough," he said a moment after activating his visor. "But it's not just his mind. From what I can tell, the venom's in his whole body, but for some reason only the part in his mind is active. I'm guessing the physical changes don't occur until—"

"—he touches the moonlight," he and Pohatu finished in unison.

Tahu seemed to find new strength at their last word. He clawed at the ground, scrambling for the cave's exit.

Kopaka reacted first. Taking out his spear, he struck the Toa to the side. Tahu slammed against the cave wall and fell to the ground. He didn't get up.

Pohatu knelt by Tahu, picking up his wrist. He stayed very still. "He's alive," he said, "but not for long if we keep him here. Tahu _needs_ to be somewhere safer than this… place." He put specific emphasis on the last word.

Kopaka frowned. "We can't risk the villagers' lives. He could ignore the pain and go for them anyway."

"He's unconscious right now," Pohatu retorted. "this is the best choice we've got in transporting him to a safe place."

"Well…"

"What other choice do we have? We can't treat his wounds here."

Kopaka took a deep breath. "Fine," he said as he sighed. "But we need to know _exactly_ where we're going—no taking him out any longer than necessary."

"I'll look," Pohatu said.

And he was gone.

* * *

"Lewa, I can't let you go," Onua repeated for the third time. His voice was starting to strain from the pain in his wrist.

Lewa glared at Onua, wild-eyed. "I _told_ you to stop _calling_ me that!" And he jerked his arm, taking a snapping sound from Onua's wrist.

The Toa of Earth shut his eyes tight, but held the resolution to keep holding on. Even as he thought this, he felt himself begin to lose his grip. "I know you're more powerful than this creature, Lewa," he said, hoping his voice sounded calmer than he felt. "Lewa, you can win this fight—I know so. All of us do. Tahu, Gali, Pohatu, Kopaka and I."

Lewa stopped struggling. He still trembled, but at least he was no longer thrashing around.

Onua continued. "That's it. We know you can do it, and you know what?" He smiled. "I think you know, too."

Lewa closed his eyes. With a faint smile, he sighed. Little by little, he stopped shaking entirely. "Onua," he said. His voice sounded weak but calm. "You can let go of me now. I… I should tell you something."

Onua closed his eyes, whispering a prayer of thanks. Letting go, he began to massage his wrist. "You can tell me."

As he came closer to Onua, Lewa's smile grew. "You should get some rest, Onua. It's getting late."

"I will when you do, Lewa," Onua said. "After all, you need more sleep than I." He paused. The Toa of Jungle didn't seem to be listening. "Lewa?"

"I'm sorry," Lewa said. He grinned. "But Lewa can't hear you—he's sleeping."

The next thing Onua knew, he had collapsed to the floor. Struggling to get up, he noticed the glint of a mask.

His own mask, which "Lewa" held.

"Lewa's sleeping right now," the creature said, bending down to the barely conscious Toa of Earth.

Onua could do little more than lift his hand a few centimeters up.

The beast laughed the exact same way Lewa would. "You look so exhausted. But don't worry—I can awaken you." It began to walk toward the window.

"No…" Onua barely whispered, wincing.

It turned around. "Don't worry—it only hurts for the first half-minute. Besides, I won't jump out the window. We need only open it to free ourselves."

Slowly, slowly, Onua managed to curl his hand into a fist. After counting from three in his head, he desperately lunged for the beast despite the sheer physical agony. His aim was true.

"Lewa" crashed to the ground, Onua's body pinning him down. "Stop it!" it screeched. "I'm trying to do the right thing—to grow the pack!"

Onua didn't respond. His eyes barely glowed, and his breathing was slow.

"Unconscious. Typical." It struggled to free itself, kicking with Lewa's legs and clawing with his hands.

Two agonizingly long minutes later, it finally scrambled free. Onua was still knocked out.

The beast smiled. Turning around, it walked in front of the window.

Onua was just awakening when he saw Lewa's arms force both curtains to the side. Immediately Lewa's voice cried out, and his body crumpled to the ground, shaking violently. His shoulders tensed up as the armor shifted, molding its own shape to become flatter, pressing against his skin. His legs grew smaller, and sharp claws began to show from his boots. His bones made a grinding sound as his jaw stretched out into a muzzle, filling with teeth.

Onua dearly wished he could do more than lie on the ground, staring helplessly as his once-friend now stood on all fours.

The wolf, free at last, howled in triumph. It turned to the fallen Earth Toa.

It was time to grow the pack.

As the creature lurched toward Onua, a voice called out, "How'd the…?" Curious, it turned to the noise—and an armored boot kicked it squarely in the face.

Gali put her leg back down as the wolf fell to the floor in a heap. Noticing Onua was maskless, she quickly scanned the room with her eyes. It took a few seconds, but when she found it just below the window, she grabbed it, hurrying to Onua and fitting it onto his face.

Onua's eyes were dim but staring. "I didn't want to believe it," he said slowly, "but I saw it."

This was the first time Gali had ever heard Onua's voice shake from fear. "What are you talking about?" she asked, then added quickly, "you don't have to tell me if it scares you."

Onua lumbered to his feet. "That," he said, pointing at the stunned wolf. "That's Lewa."


	3. Making a Stand

"There's a roofed forest," said Pohatu, skidding to a stop. Sparks jumped from the ground at his feet like birds from a falling tree. "I saw various herbs and barely any light. It's around 200 meters from here."

"Finally some good news," Kopaka said with a half-agitated, half-relieved sigh. "I had to knock that _thing_ "—he gesticulated toward Tahu's unconscious body—"out again while you were away."

Pohatu frowned. "Well, I'm sorry for finding a safer place to stay."

Kopaka pinched the bridge of his nose. "You know what, skip it. This cave's making us all a little on edge."

"A little?" Pohatu mused.

"I know what I said," Kopaka snapped. "At least _I'm_ not polluting this place with snide comments."

Pohatu folded his arms. "Listen to yourself. Who's the rude one?"

Kopaka clenched one hand into a fist, reaching for his spear. "We have to get out of this place—I don't know why or how, but it's messing with our minds. I can feel it."

Pohatu didn't want to listen, but forced himself to, anyway. Trying to focus, he could find truth in Kopaka's words—though he didn't want to admit it to himself. "We _should_ get out of here," he murmured.

"That's what I've been telling you this whole time!" Kopaka yelled in frustration. "Are you actually stupid enough to have figured that out just now?"

Pohatu felt a wave of anger well up inside. "I meant I was agreeing with you," he said, forcing his voice to be calm. It was remarkably hard to do. "I agree that we should leave this place to treat Tahu's wounds." _And our sanity,_ he added in his head.

Kopaka glanced at Tahu. "Fine. But you're carrying him."

"Not when you say it like that, I'm not," Pohatu replied stubbornly.

Kopaka gritted his teeth. "You obviously don't understand. All teamwork involves leadership, and we need teamwork at the moment, in case you hadn't noticed."

Pohatu nodded, mentally cooling himself off. "Alright—teamwork it is. Grab his legs, and I'll take his arms."

"I just said…" Kopaka closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "I'm deeply sorry. Something came over me, and I couldn't stop myself from—"

"Less talk, more lifting," Pohatu said, holding up Tahu's arms. "You can overwhelm me with apologies and self-hatred once we're in the forest." He hesitated. "I don't know why I said that."

"Whatever happened to less talk?" Kopaka said, his tone heavy with exasperation.

Pohatu barely managed to push down his anger. "Just pick up his legs. We have to get out of here, as you said."

"Fine," Kopaka muttered. "At least Tahu's been unconscious for a while. Here's hoping it stays that way."

* * *

Gali stared through the floor. "That's impossible," she murmured. "For Lewa to be himself one moment, and…" She grabbed her head. "No, it can't. It's not possible."

Onua sighed helplessly. "That's what I dearly wished were true. But in any case, it would be wise to put… him… into a place where he can't harm anyone. He said some dreadful thing about, as he put it…" He shuddered. "'Growing the pack.' Whatever that means, I have a feeling it's not the explanation he gave."

Gali seemed to regain her composure, at least slightly. "That explanation being?"

"He said he was referring to _his_ pack, saying he 'had to stretch those abs sometime.'"

"You mean like a—!" Gali burst out laughing, and for a moment Onua thought she'd cracked from pressure. Luckily, the Toa of Water reasserted herself. "Typical Lewa," she said, even still chuckling. "I wish I'd thought of that. An _ab-pack…_ oh, my…"

Onua laughed helplessly, not understanding the joke in the least. "Anyway, we should take him to a safe place. Where do you think we should go?"

Gali thought to herself. "Well, there are three places I can think of at the moment. There's the dungeon below the forge, which is the safest place he could be. The problem is, there's no way we can get there without going outside, which would be healthy for that _thing_ , and unhealthy for us."

"I could dig a tunnel to there," Onua suggested.

"Without breaking anything on the surface?" replied Gali. "Sorry, but that sounds too dangerous."

Onua looked at Gali. His stare was profound. "The danger is worth it to save our friend. That's what Toa do."

"What Toa do is protect those who can't protect themselves," Gali said. "Burrowing underground in the dead of night, close to the surface where there could be a cave-in and Okotans could be injured? That seems too risky to me."

"Lewa can neither protect nor control himself. Would he not count as one to protect, just because he is a Toa? Besides, once he's safely locked—" He stopped. Ending that sentence was tough. "Once he's safely locked away," he continued, "we'll be protecting the villagers from…" He stopped again, but forced himself to continue. "From him."

Gali sighed. "Yes, I suppose you're right. But let's check other options first, before jumping straight into the first choice. So, our second choice is the basement of this house. It's closest by, but not nearly—"

"Behind you!" Onua called suddenly.

Gali whipped around, jumping to the side and narrowly missing a literal hand full of claws. She cautiously kept her eyes on the now-conscious wolf as she stepped to Onua's side.

"I didn't bring my trident," she said to Onua.

Onua shook his head. "Don't worry about that. Worry about protec—"

The wolf cut him off, raking its claws across Onua's mask. Then the beast rose up on its hind legs, letting out a howl.

Gali didn't waste any time. Spinning her leg around faster than a whirlpool, she kicked the wolf in the chest, knocking it over.

The wolf snarled in response, but got to its hind legs rather than its four paws. It shakily grabbed at its head, shaking it with such violence it was a wonder the beast didn't fall over from dizziness.

Gali stayed still as she watched. The wolf seemed to stop struggling. Its breathing became short and shallow as it looked down at its paws.

That was when she heard a familiar voice.

* * *

"No, no, no," Lewa whispered, grimacing as he stared down at his palms. All the nightmares, all the pain, all the mirages were horrifying realities. Onua lay on the floor, his mask badly damaged. That was Lewa's fault. It was all his fault, right back to when he had given "help" where Kopaka and Gali didn't need it. And here he was, barely controlling himself enough to stare at his hands, barely holding on to his own mind.

Lewa couldn't handle it any longer. He clenched his clawed hands into fists, collapsing to his knees. And he cried.

"I can't do this," he said eventually. "I'm too weak forr this—I'll hurrt them." He stopped for a second.

Whipping his head around, he saw a woman clad in blue. She had hurt him. She would pay the price.

The woman took a step toward him, clearly planning to strike again. Lewa tensed. He stretched his claws, readying them for an attack.

That was when he heard the woman's voice: "Lewa? Is that you?"

He froze. How could she know his name? But no, a voice in his mind said. Of course she'd know—she's Gali.

All the jumbled pieces of his mind finally fit together as he took full control of himself. Right, he was Lewa, she was Gali, and Onua was completely forgotten in a corner somewhere. "Oookay," he managed to say.

Gali's eyes widened. "It _is_ you!" And she flung out her arms, charging toward him—undoubtedly about to attack him!

Lewa shot his arms in front of himself in defense, ducking his head behind them. A few seconds later, he realized she was trying to hug him.

Well, then.

Cautiously, Lewa opened his arms, fighting the urge to growl. With an expression of relief, Gali put her arms around him, hugging him tightly, and there was a fluttering in Lewa's heart. As she let go, he realized he'd been holding his breath that entire time.

"Sooooo," he said eventually, again startling himself with his own voice. "Could you orr someone else, um… explain?"

Gali blinked. "Well done—if I were in your place, I'd scream my lungs out."

Lewa found this hard to believe. Gali never screamed— _Kopaka_ screamed more often than she did. Nonetheless, he asked, "How'd I get like this? I rrememberr talking about…" He closed his eyes in concentration. "My six-pack?"

A wide grin spread itself across Gali's face. "I'm just saying it now, that was the best pun I've ever heard from you."

"What? How in the stars was that a pun?"

"Never mind. You need context for it. Onua can explain."

"Oh. Rright. He exists." He walked to Onua, who _still_ lay on the ground. Lewa smiled. This one looked so helpless, so weak. He may have evaded him last time, thanks to the female, but that was a momentary setback. The large one would make a solid addition to the pack.

The large Toa even welcomed his fate, smiling and waving. "Welcome back, Lewa," he said.

The wolf jumped back. That name again—why did this creature keep insisting on calling him that?

"I'd get up to properly greet you," he added, "but I'm afraid that since my mask is damaged, I feel too weary to do so."

The woman beside him gasped. "You never told us that!" she said, annoyed.

The larger Toa shrugged. "I awoke while you two were talking. Interrupting your conversation would be rude, so I figured I'd bring it up as soon as you were finished—so I did, and here we all are."

The female let out a long sigh, beginning to walk towards the large male. She focused entirely on getting to him—the reason why didn't matter. Her back was turned. The time was right.

Lewa slept.

* * *

By the time Onua's warning had reached Gali's ears it was already too late. Her back felt it would burn from the searing pain. She collapsed to her knees, holding back a cry of agony.

Lewa's hand roughly grabbed Gali's shoulder and pushed, forcing her to the ground. "Don't be afrraid," Lewa—no, the wolf—said. "Only the change hurts—but then you'll feel more frree than you've ever felt in your life."

Gali didn't answer, trying to get up. Her injured back didn't help her.

The wolf smiled, holding out a clawed hand. "Let me help. I'll lead you to the light."

To Gali's horror, she found herself beginning to nod. " _No,_ " she said, shaking her head sharply—partially to stop herself from nodding, but mostly to clear it. "No wolf's going to kill anyone on my watch. Okotan, Toa, whatever. I won't"—She jerked her legs straight—"let you kill"—the force propelled her forward—" _anyone!_ " And she landed right onto the wolf's body. Her hand flailed around for a second before she grabbed Lewa's malformed Mask of Jungle and tore it off.

The wolf didn't howl as she'd expected. Instead letting out a breathy whimper—almost sounding like a sigh—it fell backward onto the floor, falling unconscious as well.

Gali's feeling of triumph was short-lived as her heart began to pound against her ribs. A sharp tingle from her back made her double over, gasping. What was going on here? Surely it wasn't what the wolf had described…

She turned her head, and what she saw confirmed her fears.

Shining brightly, the moon twinkled in her eyes.

* * *

"Come on, come on," Kopaka muttered to himself. So far, he and Pohatu had carried the unconscious Toa of Fire around halfway from the cave to a nearby forest, the canopy so thick hardy any light could shine through. Usually, he wouldn't like this, and he knew Pohatu hated it even more. But neither one complained—not until now, at least.

"I think I see him stirring," Kopaka said. "We should put him down—I have to knock him out again."

Pohatu arched an eyebrow. "Have to, or want to?" His smirk faded like a desert mirage. "But we shouldn't slow down. If anything, we should be speeding up, what with Tahu waking up. Besides, even if you _could_ knock him out, you'd just damage him more. He's banged up enough already."

"If I could? What's that supposed to mean?"

"I thought you were the quietest one… I meant you couldn't knock him out with your spear—you left that back at the cave."

"Did I?" asked Kopaka. Moving Tahu's legs into one hand, he reached behind him with the other and took out his spear.

Pohatu nodded. "Nice."

Kopaka allowed a faint smile. "Thank you." His expression became stoic again as he looked at Tahu. "Shall I?"

"I would do that only if he started struggling," Pohatu answered. "The only bad thing he's doing right now is worrying you. We should pick up the pace before he does more than that."

"Right, sensible enough," Kopaka said, returning his spear to his back. His free hand took one of Tahu's legs. "Let's go."

By the time the three had reached the forest, Tahu's stirring had become thrashing back and forth. Luckily, he calmed down slightly as they entered. Slightly.

" _Now_ can I knock him out?" Kopaka asked. Setting down the Toa of Fire's legs.

Pohatu let go of Tahu's arms, which _boomf_ ed against the forest floor. "Your time would be better spent checking his vitals—an explanation for why he didn't change in broad moonlight would also be nice."

"Well," Kopaka said, "my best guess is the transformation is triggered neurologically, so the mind has to choose. The moon, or moons, only helps with the change itself. It doesn't make sense, I know," he added quickly, "but at least we have something to work with."

"There's that." Kneeling down, Pohatu began to pick some plants from the ground, examining them closely. He said, "What I said about checking vitals isn't an order, but you don't have much better to do."

Kopaka nodded, looking at Tahu. He closed his left eye, the action activating his lens. Tahu's heat signature was hotter than an average Toa, but that was entirely normal for a Toa of Fire.

The Toa of Ice held up Tahu's wrist, listening to his breathing. His pulse was steady, as was his breathing pattern. What seemed off was that both were faster than usual—at least to a calm, restful Toa. For a stressed one or one in pain, this was perfectly healthy.

Experimentally, Kopaka said, "Tahu, can you hear me?"

Tahu inhaled sharply, then let out the breath slowly. At least he responded.

"Which part of you hurts?" Kopaka asked, determined to get a vocal response. "Is it your wrist? Your back?"

Wincing, Tahu looked at Kopaka an expression of pain on his maskless face. "My mind."

"What?" Kopaka wanted Tahu to give an answer, but he hadn't expected him to.

"My mind," Tahu repeated, shutting his eyes. He took a strained breath. "Hurts like blazes, but still better than"—he winced as his muscles tensed, then relaxed—"better than mutating into some furry freak and growing the—no—clawing everyone."

Kopaka's brow furrowed from under his mask, but he nodded. "Earlier while we were carrying you here, you gained consciousness, and you were clearly in the moonlight. Why didn't you transform?"

"Almost did, near the end. When you hit me into the cave… knocked the wolf out a little. I then managed to keep it at bay. Still am."

"Wait," Kopaka said slowly. "I hit you around twenty minutes ago. Are you saying that, for twenty minutes, you've been keeping a wild beast from taking over your mind?"

Tahu grinned, opening his eyes. "Kiss my mask," he swore.

"Hail the conquering hero," said Pohatu, standing up. "Get up. I can't put this on your back when you're lying on it."

Tahu didn't flare up, as Kopaka expected him to. Instead, he put on a mock-offended expression. "What, no applause? Besides," he added, "I couldn't get up if I—" He suddenly winced, blinking many times. He continued after a few seconds, though as he spoke, he sounded out of breath. "Couldn't if I wanted to. All the pain and weakness… I'd lose grip."

Kopaka understood. "I could turn you over. Could you still concentrate on keeping that _thing_ at bay?"

"Closing his eyes, Tahu frowned in thought. "I think so," he said eventually. His eyes switched to Pohatu. "Pohatu, exactly what will you put on my back?"

"Tall cinquefoil," Pohatu answered.

"Tall… are you _joking?_ "

"If I were joking, I would have said something more creative."

"Well, then again, if you were joking then Ikir would have frozen over by now."

"Kopaka, can you roll Tahu over now, please?" Pohatu said, deliberately changing the topic.

Kopaka's almost unnoticeable smile vanished. "Of course. Tahu, are you prepared?"

"Yeah, yeah," Tahu grumbled, closing his eyes. He became silent as his expression grew strangely peaceful, and for a moment Kopaka wondered if Tahu had fallen unconscious. "I'm ready," Tahu said, removing Kopaka's suspicion.

Tahu tensed as Kopaka set his arms under his back, making a quiet groan as it left the forest floor.

"Hang in there," Kopaka said, his voice soft but stern. "Just keep holding it back."

Tahu scoffed. "What do you expect I've been doing for the last half hour—sitting back and enjoying your carrying me? My calves still tingle from where you held me, by the way."

"Phrasing, Tahu."

"I mean, you really didn't have to touch me like that."

" _Phrasing, Tahu."_

"What? All I'm saying is the next time you carry me, try to—"

"PHRASING."

"—to grab my ankles next time."

Pohatu, who had been silent the whole time, sighed. "That is simultaneously the strangest and most terrifying conversation I've ever witnessed."

"You clearly haven't been near Lewa," Kopaka mused.

Pohatu gave a look. "Why do you think I've been in Ketar so often?" He turned to Tahu. "It's been a while since I've used this, and I can't recall whether it stings or not. In case it does, I want you to prepare."

"As if I wasn't in enough pain," Tahu said with a grimace. Nonetheless, he took a breath and tensed himself, stayed still a moment, then released both air and tension. "Ready."

Pohatu wasted no time. Taking some green mush from his hand, he began to rub it into Tahu's wounds, to which Tahu himself made a pleasantly surprised "Oh."

Kopaka blinked. "'Oh'?"

"I expected the worst," Tahu said. "Still stings, but barely. Guess I'm tougher than I thought."

"That, or simply the plant was… never mind." Kopaka decided not to rain on Tahu's parade, as annoying as the Toa of Fire was. After all, Kopaka _still_ had to apologize for what he'd said a full hour or two ago. But on the other hand, Tahu must have long-forgotten that, judging by how dense and forgetful he usually was. He sighed. _And there's another thing to apologize for…_

"Done. You can set him down now."

Pohatu's gravelly voice snapped Kopaka back into reality. He nodded, laying Tahu gingerly onto the ground. "Anything to do now?" he asked.

"I still have to treat his wrist, but that's easier," Pohatu answered. "Both of you need to rest—I can keep watch over Tahu, so he doesn't lose control in his sleep."

Kopaka huffed. "Impossible. He'll lose concentration the moment he steps into the dream realm. We have to keep him awake."

"If he loses control, I can hold him off. But look at him right now—he looks so tired."

"He's also here in front of your faces," said Tahu, "and he'd like it if you'd stop acting like he doesn't exist."

Pohatu sighed. "Our apologies. What do you think of this?"

"Actually, I'm with your idea," Tahu said. "I'm not sure how, but I feel like I can do this—yes, I can rest and sleep."

"Sleep requires a lack of consciousness," said Kopaka, "and you need to stay conscious to keep _it_ at bay. You may _feel_ better now that you're all patched up, but for the Okotans' safety we can't take that risk."

Tahu gritted his teeth—even though he was maskless, that somehow made him appear _more_ intimidating. "Look, I know myself better than you know me, and none of your scanner scans can change that. I feel pain in my back and wrist, but my mind doesn't hurt at all. You know what that means?"

"Your head's going numb?"

"No, you dumb icicle. Somehow, that wolf's gone!"

Kopaka blinked many times. "I'm sorry, what? How's that possible?"

Tahu rolled his eyes. "I said 'somehow,' didn't I?"

"It has to be the cinquefoil," Pohatu said suddenly. "Tahu, take a nap, will you?"

"Well," Tahu said, quite put out, "that's one way to talk someone out! I mean, it's more creative than 'jump in a lake,' but still."

"No, literally. I really want you to jump in a—no. I literally want you to take a nap. At least try."

"Oh, _fine."_ Closing his eyes, Tahu relaxed. His breathing became quieter, and longer. Before long, the dim glow in his eyes began to flicker underneath their lids. He had begun to dream.

Kopaka stared at the sleeping Toa, quietly remarking, "That was fast."

"He's exhausted," answered Pohatu. "You'd be, too, if you were keeping a monster from taking over your mind. For half an hour, mind."

"I suppose so." Kopaka sat on a nearby bed of moss. "By the way, how can we be sure it's _completely_ gone? For all we know, _it_ could just be suppressed. It could still jump out at any given moment."

Pohatu smirked. "Usually _you're_ the one telling me to be more optimistic. Don't worry too much about it—get some rest. If the wolf ever comes, I'll take care of it. Besides," he said, smiling, "I have a feeling it won't come to that."

Kopaka wanted to snap at him, saying that feelings and optimism wouldn't be enough, and they needed cold, hard facts, to be sure nothing would go wrong. But Kopaka felt tired—which was probably why he almost said what he said. "Let's hope you're right," was all he could say.

* * *

Gali couldn't stop staring at the moon—mostly in horror, but a small part of her felt interested, even fascinated. It wanted to push out her worries and fears, since they weren't doing any good. They were filling her head with nonsense about losing control. They had to go if Gali was to grow the pack.

Shutting away her doubts, Gali felt unusually peaceful. She recalled what Lewa, her friend, had said earlier: "Only the change hurts—but then, you'll feel more free than you've ever felt in your life." She wanted that freedom—all the freedom asked for in return was to help others have this feeling.

To grow the pack.

Just as Gali was about to yield completely, she heard a deep voice call out her name. She whipped around to see a large male Toa, a wide crack stretching down an entire half of his mask.

Curiosity overcame her urge to submit. She stalked toward the strange creature, which made no attempt to escape or defend himself. His breathing was slow yet shallow, as if he were continually out of breath.

The two stayed silent as Gali looked at him. Both his appearance and scent seemed familiar—he must have been a friend, but he didn't know of the pack just yet. That wouldn't be a problem.

Gali jumped when he started to move. But, as it turned out, he only shifted his hand. "I'm sorry, Gali," he said softly. "I wish I could have saved you."

"No," Gali replied. " _I'm_ saving _you."_


	4. All in Your Head

Lewa fell through the blackness, only a wisp of awareness wandering about his mind. He could tell he was falling, judging by the wind whistling past his body. He could also smell a particular scent: a rusted, coppery metal, mixed with fresh plant fibers. Was he… bleeding?

The next thing he knew, Lewa was lying down in a shallow pool of water, only a few centimeters deep. Getting to his feet, he looked around and couldn't help gasping in amazement.

As far as his eyes could see, the pool stretched on forever, the surface unbroken save the ripples he had just made. Once they smoothed out, it felt as if he were standing in a sea of glass.

But what the sea reflected was, if possible, more breathtaking. Hundreds of millions of stars dotted the sky, which wore a dazzling coat of lavender and light periwinkle, never changing color. It was in an eternal sunset.

Lewa put a hand to his mask, intending to rub it to take in the view. But when his hand touched his head, it felt softer and more sensitive than a mask. Growing worried, he looked down at his reflection.

His bare face looked back at him.

Almost as if his body had only reacted just then, Lewa's legs gave out from under him. He landed with a splash, sending ripples on and on until they disappeared behind the horizon. He could scarcely breathe, let alone move. The sky became darker, as did the stars—within seconds, every single star had gone out, and the skies had become a dark void.

Lewa felt a tug at his wrist. Then another tug, this time at his leg. Soon, the invisible force was squeezing and pulling on his limbs. Too tight!

Realizing his eyes were closed, he opened them and found himself in black space, tied helplessly in vines. After the initial shock, Lewa tried to communicate with the plants, telling them to free him. But after failing, he recalled he didn't _have_ his mask. And if that were the case, brute force wouldn't work either—if anything, it would be _less_ effective.

"Wait, not yet," his voice said. The tone was lower-pitched and colder than usual, and there was a hint of bestiality in it. "You must walk into the light first, sister," he found himself saying, "forr only then can you frree this one." He had no clue why he said that, but he reckoned it couldn't have been good.

In the distance, a muffled voice—Gali's voice—gave a reply.

"Yes, it does," Lewa's voice said back. "But pain is a small prrice to pay for the frreedom it grrants you. Come."

Gali timidly asked a question.

"I am," Lewa's voice said, "and you _have_ to."

Unable to even twitch a finger, Lewa waited in silence.

* * *

"So, question," Tahu said slowly. "If you're supposed to be a Toa of Lightning, why's your armor purple?"

The Toa sighed, digging his lance into the ground. "What other colors would I be? Kopaka took white, and Gali took blue."

"Don't forget Onua—he took purple. Why can't you be… I don't know, bright yellow or something?" Tahu sat next to the Toa. "Besides, Lightning isn't an element."

"Neither is Jungle. Air or wind makes far more sense."

Tahu's mouth fell open. "You can't be serious! Lewa, Master of _Wind?_ That's completely… just… that's _wrong!"_

"What's so wrong about it?"

"Think of the jungle. Color?"

"Green."

Tahu nodded. "Right, so Lewa's armor is that color. Think of air or wind. What color?"

"Green."

"Right, so—wait." Tahu stared through the Toa of Lightning. "Did you say, 'green'?"

The Toa nodded.

Tahu's face made a very creative contortion. "So you're saying wind is green."

"Obviously," answered the Toa.

Slowly, Tahu dragged his hand down his face. "Of all the… What did you say your name was?"

"Vori—"

"—ahu, wake up," Kopaka's voice called. "Come on, Tahu. We saw a—"

"I'm _up,_ you stupid snowball," Tahu groaned. "What's going on that's so important?"

Kopaka scoffed. "I was about to tell you, but you seemed keen on interrupting me."

"I'm not interrupting you now, am I?"

"You know what, forget it. It's pointless."

"Oh, _I_ see how it is," Tahu sniffed. "First you complain about me interrupting you, and now you complain when I'm _not._ You just want to argue, don't you?"

"Flare-light came from the city," Pohatu interrupted. "If you two aren't in the middle of something, we should go there as soon as possible."

Tahu quickly said, " _Someone_ needs to work on conversation skills," but all the same left Kopaka alone. He'd deal with _him_ later. "What are we waiting for?"

"For you to be ready," Pohatu answered.

"I _am_ ready, pebblehead. Let's go!"

* * *

Onua forced his eyes open for the third time. Each time became more difficult, and unless he specifically focused on keeping awake, he found himself slipping away. Jolting took even more energy, and he didn't want to _think_ of the power necessary to take down Gali.

Gali herself seemed to be in a trance. Her eyes glowed with unnatural brightness, and her body stood straight as a sword. Slowly, she began to approach the window.

"Gali, I—I know you're better than this!" Onua managed to call. "You need to fight it—to protect the Okotans!"

The Toa of Water stopped. "You think I'm protecting Okotans by keeping them enslaved—locked up in their clumsy, two-legged forms? I'm helping these poor villagers, Onua—they can defend themselves properly once they're free. You can't understand, of course. Why," she said with a chuckle, "you're probably thinking I've lost my mind." She walked to the window, stopping just next to where the moonlight shone. "I don't blame you for not understanding—you must be terrified. But don't worry. I'll help you once I'm finished."

"How is changing them into monsters _saving_ them?" Onua shot back, adrenaline building up. "Listen to what you're saying, Gali—that beast is taking your free will. The same will happen to the villagers if you go through with the beast's plan. You're not freeing the Okotans, you're _enslaving_ them. Do you understand?"

Gali gritted her teeth. "You don't know what you're missing out on."

"Nor do I ever want to know," Onua answered. He leaped at Gali.

* * *

"That was sudden," Tahu remarked.

"You're welcome," replied Pohatu, setting him and Kopaka down as he deactivated his sand tornado. "And, thanks for giving out directions," he added with hesitance.

Tahu nodded, looking queasy. "Don't mention it. As in, _really_ don't. I… I think my stomach's back in the forest somewhere."

"Save the technicolor yawns for later," Kopaka said dryly. "We need to give the cinquefoil to Lewa, assuming Onua did his job in keeping him inside."

A faint crash erupted from the house, along with a cry of "LET ME GO!"

Kopaka facepalmed. "One job, Onua. _One._ "

"Come on," Pohatu said.

Tahu nodded again. "Agreed. _COME ON, ONUA._ "

"I meant we should come on over and _help_ him," Pohatu said exasperatedly.

"Oh. Right."

"Shall we, 'Brave and Bright Leader?'" Kopaka asked mordantly.

Tahu scoffed. "Obviously. That crash told me Onua must be in danger!"

Kopaka blinked many times. "You realized just… remind me how a brick became our leader?"

" _Again_ the ice block wants to argue," Tahu snapped. "Do you _want_ Onua to become one of those things?"

"He won't."

The Fire and Ice Toa each turned to Pohatu, who was just deactivating his sand tornado with Onua in his arms. "I still need Gali," he said quickly, setting him down. "Take him and fix his mask somehow. Arguing won't get anyone anywhere, so _stop."_ Before either Toa could speak, Pohatu had sped off.

Tahu sighed. "I've said it before, I'll say it again: Pohatu _really_ needs to work on conversation skills. But first things first." He bent down, looking into Onua's tired eyes. "Do you feel hurt?"

Onua thought for a moment, eventually asking, "Physically or spiritually?"

"Um… Let's go for the first one," Tahu said haltingly.

Onua gave a weak, helpless smile. "Why, I'm fit as a peach—though my mask is damaged, so there wouldn't be a difference if I weren't wearing it. But other than that and a bruise or two, I'm fine. No scratches." He let out a sigh. "I dearly wish I could say the same for Gali."

"Wait. It happened to—you mean she—"

"No, she hasn't changed—not yet, at least…" With a yawn, Onua relaxed. "My, I forgot how tired I was. Is it okay with you if I take a nap?"

"Can you answer just a few more—ow!" Tahu grunted at a sharp jab in his side.

"I've scanned him," Kopaka whispered, "and his energy levels are low like I've never seen. _He needs to rest._ "

"And I need to know if Gali's okay," Tahu shot back. He hesitated. "I mean, Gali's part of the team, and I need to make sure all of my teammates are well."

Kopaka frowned. "How can you be concerned about _Gali_ when Onua lies essentially maskless at your feet? _You_ were the one who was pressing to help Onua earlier."

"Well… that was before he mentioned her," Tahu said slowly.

Kopaka's jaw dropped. "You did _not_ just—" He punched Tahu in the chest, knocking the breath out of him. "Get her out of your head!"

Tahu stumbled back, coughing hollowly. Still struggling to breathe, he managed to say, "What—jealous?"

Kopaka gritted his teeth. "No. Your lovesickness is interfering with the mission, and that. Can't. _Happen."_ He grabbed Tahu's shoulder. "Even _you're_ not stupid enough to miss that."

Tahu scoffed, but looked down, not saying anything until many moments later. Finally, he said, "Let's make sure Onua's comfortable. I'll repair his mask while you dress his wounds." And kneeling down, he removed Onua's mask.

At this point, Kopaka didn't bother questioning why or how Tahu would "repair his mask," as he had put it. Kopaka silently knelt by the unconscious Toa, looking over him. Taking out the mashed cinquefoil Pohatu had prepared, he took off a battered piece of armor and lathered the poultice onto Onua's badly bruised leg. Once he finished that, he moved to his other leg.

It was a long, tedious task, but after minutes that felt like forever, Kopaka finally finished doing all he could in patching up his friend. Turning to his not-friend, he asked, "Are you finished with that yet?"

"Don't distract me," came Tahu's sharp reply. He sighed a few seconds later. "I'm almost finished, and if I mess this part up, we'll all go to Ekimu—metaforally _and_ literally."

"Can I help in any way?" asked Kopaka, wisely choosing not to correct him on _metaphorically._

"You're doing _plenty_ of help if you want me to fail." Tahu had turned away, focusing on the red-hot mask in his hands. He began to seal the final clawmark with surprising precision, using a tiny fireball as a welder.

"But I want to help you succeed."

Tahu stopped, and the mask instantly cooled down. He looked at Kopaka. "All this time, and _now_ you wanna help me 'succeed?' Is Pohatu blackmailing you, or bribing you?"

"Neither," Kopaka said before he let out a long sigh. "No beating around the bush, I'll just say it. I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I don't know what I was thinking."

"You mean with the seidu drink?" Tahu put down Onua's mask. "You know, maybe… nah."

"What?"

"I just thought, well… maybe it's _my_ fault you said that—I mean, if I hadn't said that mind-in-gutter thing, none of us would be in this mess. I'm…" Tahu sighed. "I'm sorry."

"As am I," Kopaka replied.

"And I'm sorrier than both of you," Pohatu said, dropping an unconscious Toa of Water onto the ground. "I can fix my own scratches, once I'm done with Lewa. You fix her up as you did Onua."

"Are you sure you can handle him alone?" Kopaka called.

Pohatu was already gone.

* * *

Lewa had stopped trying to struggle long ago—soreness in his arms had grown far too intense. Now if he did more than stretch a finger, his entire arm would ignite in throbbing pain, which escalated to the point where he could scarcely feel anything else. The thorny vines tugging at his wrists didn't exactly help, either. So he lay alone, suspended in a realm of nothingness, waiting for it to be over. Would it ever stop? _Could_ it?

"Your turn, monster."

Startled by Pohatu's voice, Lewa jerked his head toward the noise—bad idea. Trying hard to push the pain away, he tried to call Pohatu's name.

"Stone Toa," his voice growled.

Pohatu's eyebrow arched. "You've been silent an awfully long time. Did it take you only until now to figure out my element?"

Lewa blinked many times. This was Pohatu? Since when had he become so talkative?

"No response?" Pohatu's tone was an unreadable mix of emotions. "I would have expected more chatter from a wolf like you—especially since you were Lewa."

 _But I still am!_ Lewa protested, tensing.

"I am a wolf," said his voice.

Pohatu scoffed. "Obviously. But I want to know about Lewa. How easy was it to… to free him?"

The wolf seemed to like that question, relaxing Lewa's muscles. "He was an easy one to frree," it said, the glee in its tone obvious. "But making him believe he isn't enslaved… he is a stubborn one."

"More stubborn than me, you think?" Pohatu asked, the faintest smile forming on his face.

Lewa couldn't believe what he was seeing. This _couldn't_ have been Pohatu!

The wolf felt interested. "You are saying if I trry to frree you… you will rresist for longer?"

"I doubt you could even hit me," Pohatu said. Lewa noticed the arrogant tone Pohatu was using—it sounded forced and exaggerated. But the wolf seemed to take it for granted.

"Go ahead and try," Pohatu sneered. "If you free me—and I don't believe you can—I'll serve your cause forever. But if you _don't_ end up capturing me and I defeat you first, you'll have to give Lewa back. Fair enough?"

Lewa could feel resentment begin to boil within the wolf. _Pohatu'll win,_ he said to the wolf. _You should just give me up before he punches you in the face for it._

Amazingly, the wolf listened. Bending down to the lowest crouch, it spoke through his voice. "Give it to us."

Pohatu blinked. "What?"

"Give us Lewa's mask," the wolf said. "Then, I will have the energy to let Lewa go."

"You seriously think I'll give you the mask?" Pohatu said with a dismissive scoff. "You take me for a fool. The moment I get near you, you'll dig those claws into me."

"You are no fool—just a coward who's afrraid of scrratches."

"There's a difference between cowardice and wisdom. Do you know that difference?"

"Do you?"

Pohatu gave the ghost of a grin. "Cliff vultures, no. Nor can I tell the difference between courage and foolhardiness. Some things may never change." He held his arms up to the stone ceiling, his mask beginning to glow. A rumbling sound began to emanate.

The wolf realized what the Toa of Stone was trying to do. Lewa could sense the wolf was thinking intensely, but he couldn't tell _what_ it was thinking. His voice suddenly called out, "You'll kill Lewa!"

Pohatu paused. "Of course I won't. Don't be ridiculous… I said to a talking wolf-man," he muttered as an afterthought.

"Whatever I feel, he feels tenfold," the wolf said. "A punch in the chest for me is a mountain collapsing for him. How could he stand a ceiling caving in on us?"

"He's had an _arena_ cave in on him," Pohatu said, folding his arms. "I swear, you could use his head as a catapult stone, and he'd hardly notice his head was missing in the first place."

Lewa laughed. Who knew _Pohatu_ had a sense of humor?

"Besides," Pohatu continued smoothly, "for all I know, you could be lying—bluffing to make sure I can't hurt you. But even then, I'll win in the end either way. If I know you're lying, I'll simply crash the ceiling on you. If I know you're telling the truth, though, I suppose I'll keep you here." He held up the mutated Mask of Jungle. "That shouldn't be too hard. Only hard part for you is at sunrise."

Lewa, to his joy, could feel fear rise within the wolf as it processed Pohatu's words. "You can't keep me here, Toa!" it hissed.

"Can't I?" Pohatu said cheekily. He brandished the mask in his hand. "And why not, may I ask? Has the power of wolf magic spontaneously replenished your energy, or are you just trying to make conversation with the few hours you have left?"

At this point, Lewa could sense the wolf's fear become dread, then panic. "But the pack—we must grow the pack—!"

 _Grow the pack, my mask!_ Lewa interrupted gleefully. _You may as well tie yourself up and wait until sunrise._

Oddly enough, the wolf seemed to listen again. Slowly, it folded Lewa's clawed hands behind his back with what little strength they both had. "I can't hurt you now. Tie me up."

Pohatu frowned. "You've got to be joking."

"Tie me up," repeated the wolf. "Then I can't hurt you when you put on Lewa's mask."

Lewa himself smiled at the idea. He missed the strength of having his mask on. Then perhaps the soreness would leave. Perhaps then he could be freed.

Pohatu nodded slowly. "I suppose that makes sense."

 _There's some rope in my closet,_ Lewa told the wolf. Then he hastily added, _I keep it there for legitimate, totally non-creepy reasons._ He winced—that sounded somehow worse than his original sentence.

"Rrope is in the closet," said his voice. "Lewa told me."

"Thanks." Pohatu began to approach the closet but stopped as he processed the wolf's sentence. "You do realize how strange it is that—"

"Yes, he said that too."

"…I see." If Pohatu's eyebrow could raise any higher, it would hit the ceiling. Slowly, he stepped toward the closet but kept his eyes on the wolf. His hand fumbled on the knob.

Just as he was opening the closet, Tahu, Onua, and Kopaka burst through the room's door, weapons drawn.

"No-no-no-no- _no,"_ Pohatu breathed. Raising his voice to a speaking volume, he said, "Hold your fire, all of you. The beast isn't dangerous."

"You're not the one who's been _bitten_ by one," Tahu shot back. "And anyway, I'm the one who calls the shots."

"Lewa's still in there!"

"I _know_ that. Toa, unite in Tairo formation, but knock him out—you kill it, you kill Lewa."

The Toa readied their weapons again, to which the wolf snarled, "Go ahead and grrow his pain. He can hearr all of this, and you can be sure he's terrified."

This was a blatant lie—at least, it would have been blatant if the Toa could see Lewa, who himself was grinning like a maniac. This was just what he'd been hoping for—all the Toa, coming together in a final brawl that would save him. Sure, Gali was missing, but it was her own fault for having a glass jaw when Pohatu had hit her. And sure, the battle would hurt like blazes, but it'd sure be worth it once he woke up in the end. _Bring it on!_ Lewa declared. _Make that wolf regret ever freeing me..._

He stopped, confused. Why did he use the word—?

Pain struck like a lightning bolt. Lewa's side burned in searing agony, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. What he had first seen as a dream come true had become a nightmarish reality. He was unable to move, unable to speak, helpless as his own teammates—his _friends—_ beat down on him like a hailstorm on a glass pane. He finally understood: _they_ were the ones at fault. _They_ were holding him back, locking him away, _enslaving him._ The wolves were right.

They were all right.

That was Lewa's last conscious thought before mind-numbing pain knocked him out.

* * *

"All of you are _idiots."_

"Pohatu, we 'idiots' saved your sorry little—"

Kopaka interrupted Tahu, thankfully. "The wolf's unconscious for now. Can we all move before it wakes up?"

"The closest secure place is the basement," Onua suggested, "but it's not nearly as safe as the dungeon under the Forge."

"Let's put the beast in the basement for now." Kopaka looked at Pohatu. "And your opinion?"

"My previous statement still stands," Pohatu answered, taking a coil of rope from the closet. He handed it to Onua. "You can tie him up with this."

Onua took the rope, looking puzzled. "Alright. But it seems odd that someone would keep rope in a—"

"It's best not to think too much about it. So, don't."

"Erm… Whatever you say, I suppose…" Slowly, Onua took the beast's wrists and ankles, binding them tightly. "There we go—wrapped up like a Christmas present. Shall I bring him downstairs, then?"

" _It_ downstairs," Kopaka corrected, "but yes."

Onua appeared put out, but more in disapproval than anger. "I will bring Lewa downstairs so _he_ can be safe, and in turn protect the villagers from _it._ "

"Fair enough. But we can't waste any more time." Kopaka walked to the door. As he opened it, he said, "As much as I hate to admit it, I believe Tahu should lead the way. We lost both lightstones in the cave, and he's our only source of light."

"Someone's _finally_ sticking up to me," Tahu said gratefully. He snapped his fingers, and a bright fireball materialized above his hand. "Let's go, team. Onward to the basement!"

"That sounded… utterly ridiculous."

"You're only saying that 'cause _you_ didn't get the chance to say it, blizzard-breath."

"What did you call me?"

* * *

Lewa took a deep gasp of air. It took many more breaths before he could make sense of his surroundings. Thick ropes bound his wrists and arms, with a third rope tying his waist to a massive stone pillar. He was trapped, enslaved. He had to be free somehow. _Somehow…_

"You're awake."

Kopaka spoke with a tone so chilling Lewa started to shiver. He swore the temperature dropped by three degrees at least. "Uh-umm… yeah," he said haltingly. "What… what tipped you off?"

Kopaka didn't answer. In the sternest, coldest voice Lewa had ever heard, he said, "Tell me the names of your axes. No hesitation. Go."

"Fuzzle and Tootsie," Lewa answered instantly.

"No," Kopaka said, "those are Tahu's weapons. Try again."

Lewa would have slapped himself if he could. How could he forget them when the time he named them was only…?

Ah.

"They don't have names."

"Correct," Kopaka replied. "Next question: favorite color?"

"Gold," Lewa replied without blinking.

Kopaka nodded. "Correct again. Last questio—"

"Geez, is this some sort of interview?"

"Authentic answer." Kopaka walked behind Lewa, who relaxed as the ropes around his wrists loosened. "I still can't undo them completely, in case _it_ comes back. But until then," he said, walking back to him, "it's good to have you back, Toa Lewa."

But Lewa frowned. "I might have my mind back in control, but I'm not _back_. Look at me rright now—I'm still a wolf! And even without that, you can't be serrious. You and the others were beating me up, despite the wolf's pleading!"

"We had to get the wolf out of you somehow," Kopaka said, his voice steady.

"Yeah?" Lewa spat. "Look at my furr and fangs and tell me you got it out of me!"

"Look, the important thing is it's not controlling your actions or spitting out 'we must grow the pack' to anyone who cares enough to listen. Besides, when it said you felt pain ten times stronger than it, we assumed it was bluffing."

"Oh, so just because you think it's evil makes it a liar? You know what, I'm _sick_ of this! I don't want to be a Toa—I _quit._ "


	5. Throw Away the Key

"I'm saying exactly what he said," Kopaka told the collectively shocked Toa. "And to be frank, I couldn't believe it, either."

"Well, we _shouldn't!_ " Tahu said, jolting up straight. "Sure you tested the knowledge to make sure it was him, but come on—that stuff only works on impostors! The wolf's _still_ controlling Lewa!"

"And that can only mean one thing." Kopaka punched his fist into his palm.

Onua looked shell-shocked. "Kopaka! We're trying to help Lewa, not hurt him! Surely you know that."

Smirking, Kopaka answered, "Of course. But we've been playing Good Cop for far too long."

"Says the one who literally beat Lewa into unconsciousness," Pohatu said, standing up.

At first, Kopaka was caught off guard—Pohatu, saying something impractical and unnecessary? But he quickly recovered, saying, "Don't pin that on _me._ If anyone, you should blame _Tahu. He_ ordered us to attack him."

Tahu stiffened, then opened his mouth to say something.

"Besides," Kopaka added quickly, "none of us could have known he was in the… in _it_."

"Despite the fact," Pohatu said, fists clenching, "that I literally said _to your faces_ he was 'still in there.' And Tahu acknowledged that, saying he already knew that."

"You know what, _fine._ " Tahu stormed to the door. "if I caused this Toa-quitting business as y'all are implying, it's my job to fix it. I'll talk some sense into him, and blazes to me if I can't."

"We weren't saying anything like that!" Kopaka was in the middle of saying. But the slam of the door interrupted him.

* * *

Tahu flung the basement door open. "Alright," he said, wrapping around the pillar Lewa— _the wolf_ , Tahu corrected himself—was tied to. "You fooled Kopaka, but your wolf tricks won't work on me. Talk."

"Wait, what?" the wolf said in an authentic attempt to sound surprised. "What are you even talking about? All I did was just answerr a few questions!"

"You just tore that into out of Lewa. And you're leaving out the part where you 'didn't want to be a Toa.' _That's_ what gave you away, you wolf."

The wolf made a convincing shocked impression. "I didn't mean it! Well, maybe I did, but you can't blame me—you guys were literrally beating the awakeness out of me! And I'm not being contrrolled anymore. This is my mind, my words."

"A likely story," Tahu said with sarcasm so obvious it was almost painful. "And even if you _are_ who you say you are—which is impossible—you'd know we were hurting you to make you better."

The wolf snorted. "Hurting me to make me better. See how well _that_ turned out. Sure, I have my mind back, but look at me—I'm a monster!"

"At least we agree on _something_ ," Tahu retorted with a curt scoff.

Without warning, the door burst open. "Sorry about the door," Onua said sheepishly, setting the door aside. "I was running, and I hadn't stopped as quickly as I'd hoped. But Tahu, we never said it was your fault when we were discussing—"

"Well, y'all were sure as blazes _implying_ it," Tahu said, hands tightening.

The wolf next to him widened its eyes, which glistened with wetness—crocodile tears, obviously. "Onua, help me!" it cried convincingly. "Please prrove it to him somehow—tell him I'm _me,_ I'm _Lewa, please!_ " It had begun to make crying sounds so authentic even Tahu would've been fooled if he hadn't known the truth. "I just want him to know I'm _me_ ," it sobbed. "Please, just… just tell him that. Just say it."

"Don't listen to it—it's trying to trick you!" Tahu glared at the wolf. "Nice try, but there's no point in fake-crying."

The wolf's previously trembling mouth fell open. "You… you call this… _fake?!_ "

Onua spoke up. "If you will, Tahu, let me comfort him."

"No, you don't," Tahu replied. He took his hands off the stone pillar, walking in front of Onua as if sizing him up. Onua was around half a meter taller than him. "I'm not letting that wolf corrupt you—it's already gotten Lewa."

"Calm down, please. I'll give him a hug—he certainly needs one! If you're right and the wolf is controlling him still, it will bite me. With that said, if I'm right and he is indeed himself, I think you owe him an apology for whatever you said to distress him so much. Now, doesn't that sound fair?"

Despite Tahu's desperate protesting, Onua began to walk toward the wolf with outstretched arms, welcoming his fate. Unable to stop him, Tahu couldn't watch as Onua closed his arms around the monster…

Onua didn't scream. He didn't grunt. The only sounds he made were, "I know it's scary, but I'm here now. The sun's going to come right up, and then you'll be all better. It's okay to cry—I'm right here. I'm right here."

Lewa—the _real_ Lewa—was crying. Onua was comforting him.

And after many moments of stunned silence, Tahu was doing both.

* * *

"No, the crying was fake!" Tahu objected, interrupting the middle of Kopaka's sentence. "I felt bad for Lewa," continued Tahu, "and I figured just saying 'Sorry' wouldn't cut it."

Kopaka smirked. "Really. In that case, I'd say you make a fantastic actor."

"Thank you!"

Kopaka didn't answer other than nod, which essentially meant, "We're done with this conversation; I have the information I need." Tahu was perfectly fine with this. After all, it was far better than just _walking_ out, unlike a certain _other_ Toa he could mention.

"Ten minutes till first light," said that certain _other_ Toa. Pohatu was looking up at the moon. "Let's move him."

To Tahu's annoyance, he couldn't find a way to argue with Pohatu's logic. "Y'all hear him. Get Lewa over here." Of course, that never meant Tahu couldn't get the last word.

Pohatu rolled his eyes. "Certainly, Commander Tahu. We'll obey your every command."

Tahu caught a hint of sarcasm in Pohatu's voice. "More jokes, Pohatu?" he asked, grinning. "I thought you were too serious for all that."

Pohatu walked away.

* * *

"Three minutes," Kopaka said, checking the stars.

"Come on," Lewa muttered. "Can't the moon set faster? I wanna be out there!"

Pohatu's eyes were closed tightly, as if he were intensely concentrating. "You will," he said eventually.

Lewa sighed. "I know. But why can't the sun just come out early, or I come out early?"

Pohatu's eyes opened. "You can do that. Go ahead."

"Wait, _what?_ " Gali exclaimed. "The moon's still out! Do you know what could happen once the light touches?"

"I've thought of that." Pohatu held Lewa's arm with a firm grip. "I'll go with him. Of he loses control, then I can knock him out. But it won't come to that."

Kopaka frowned. "I have to side with Gali on this one. How can you be sure nothing will happen?"

"I just… I have this feeling. It's not much to go on, but I feel nothing will go wrong if I do that."

"Yeah," Lewa added. He jerked a finger at Kopaka. "You and Gali are just trying to ruin our fun."

"But it's only two minutes until the sun rises," Gali said. "You can wait longer, can't you?"

Pohatu's eyes widened. "No, we can't."

By the time Tahu realized, it was far too late. "Grab him!"

But there was only sand in the wake of the Stone Toa.

"No," Kopaka murmured, eyes wide in shock. "No, no, no, no, _no!_ None of this can be real!" With each word, his voice grew louder. "Pohatu's too resolute for this—he _can't_ give in! He's not _weak!_ "

"He'd been strong for too long," Tahu said gravely. "Everyone must give in eventually."

Kopaka shot Tahu a dirty look. "First: if that's your attempt to sound dramatic, it's not working. And second: no. That's not how Pohatu works. Even you fought off the wolf inside, so why can't Pohatu?"

"Obviously you're underestimating me," Tahu said, anger beginning to boil within him. "Remember when we were battling Kulta for the first time? Who was the only Toa standing, despite the sheer agony pulsing through his muscles and the weakness hammering in his head? It wasn't Pohatu, I'll tell you _that_ much."

"Oh? And who was the one who could 'barely hold back the cries' when a thorn stuck his finger last week?"

"Why, _you_ won't stand holding cries back once I shove this sword—"

"Guys, _stop it._ " Gali thrust a hand forward, and every person and thing—that wasn't Kopaka or Tahu—became silent as a dried stream. It was far too late for the two Toa—Tahu had thrown Kopaka to the ground, where they both punched and kicked and yelled.

"Now, _this_ seems awfully familiar," Onua remarked. "May I, Gali?"

"Do we honestly have time for this?" Gali said, obviously exasperated. "Okay, you know what, fine. It's a little ways until sunrise. Break those two up, while I—"

A villager screamed in the distance.

"…Make sure those two don't do anything," Gali finished lamely. "Good luck, I guess."

Onua sighed. "And the same to you. Farewell."

Gali responded with a faint nod before turning away. Her trident sparkled with electricity, and before she knew it she was speeding off, buildings and trees zipping past her. She would be fine, so long as she kept her footing and—

Tree! Gali forced herself to make a sharp turn, feeling an awful wrenching in her stomach as she swung to the side. But in the long run, nausea was better than becoming a literal tree hugger.

Two wolves were just up ahead, looking quite worried upon seeing an angry Toa of Water charging toward them. One of the wolves hid behind the other, which stood its ground, growling.

Gali was undaunted. These had still been her friends once, though, so she flipped her trident around. The blunt end hit the beast the way a tidal wave would hit a rock. The sheer force pushed the wolf back many meters, and it wheezed as the air was knocked out of it. But barely five seconds later, it was back on its feet, snarling in hatred. It charged.

Shifting her trident into a defense position, Gali braced for impact. She blocked the attack well, but hadn't accounted for the other wolf, which took the opportunity and leaped onto Gali's back. Startled, Gali dropped her guard, to which the first wolf nearly pounced on her, knocking her down. She could do nothing as the creatures tore away at her. They didn't want her to be "free." They wanted her dead.

In a last desperate attempt, she tightened the grip on her trident and stabbed blindly, hoping to hit _something_. But it was too late. The pain was unbearable. She tasted blood. Spots swam before her eyes. It was over. She should have stabbed with the sharp part earlier. Her friends were gone.

Finally, the wolves departed and left Gali wanting to die on the ground. But just then, one of the wolves howled in what sounded like pain or despair—probably both.

Gali wearily opened one eye—the other refused to open. She watched as the wolf collapsed to the floor, trembling violently. Its paws flexed and unflexed as its claws shriveled into nothingness, and its clumsy stubs grew into true fingers. Even lying down, its posture had changed, becoming straighter. His shoulders rolled back. His jaw sank in, and his eyes glowed not dark green, but that familiar golden-yellow.

Lewa was back.

* * *

"You're not getting out of it like _that!_ " Kopaka shouted. "That's one of the most idiotic explanations for something I've ever heard!"

"Thorns are sharper than they look, okay?" Tahu yelled back.

Onua was waiting patiently for Tahu to apologize and climb off Kopaka. Unfortunately, it didn't seem that was going to happen any time soon. _I suppose the old ways are best_ , he reflected. Sighing only the way Onua could sigh, he grabbed the two Toas' heads and picked them up.

" _Again?_ " Tahu spat, glaring at Onua.

"Come, I've only done this once before. And even then, that was a month or two ago." Onua smiled helplessly. "Ah, how I wish both of your squabbles were so seldom."

"I don't lose my temper at the bat of an eye," Kopaka sniffed. "And I do so far less often, _and_ I don't tackle anyone down when it happens."

"I lose it for a reason!" Tahu snapped.

"No matter how contrived," said Kopaka.

"I don't know what that means, but it's probably an insult."

"Infyority, my mask. I'm clearly stronger than you are. Onua saved you this time, but wait until he's gone. I'll have a great time—not so sure about you, though."

"If you two would cooperate," Onua said almost disdainfully, "Gali may be in a bit of a predicament. She can hold her own against one wolf, I'm sure, but two at once may be more difficult, you know?"

A wolf howled in the distance.

Onua blinked. "Or perhaps not," he said, astonished. "Let's make sure he doesn't go anywhere, shall we?"

The Toa both nodded as he set them down, where they all ran toward the sound's origin. When they reached the clearing, they stopped, staring in disbelief.

Lewa, now a Toa, lay maskless on the ground. Near his curled-up form was Gali, her armor scratched and bloody. Her trident had broken, and she herself was unconscious. Pohatu was nowhere to be seen. In fact, the only evidence showing he _had_ been there was a set of pawprints, running into a darkened forest nearby.

Tahu was the first to break the silence. "GALI!" He ran to her side, grabbing her shoulders. "No, wake up! Gali, please—we need you. _I_ need you! No no no no… Gali?" His eyes widened. "Gali, stay with me! You can't leave! Please wake up!"

Gali's eyes remained shut.

"No… Please, I'm _begging_ you!"

She couldn't respond.

Tahu shut his eyes, trying fruitlessly to hold back tears. "Don't _die!_ You can't, I won't let it happen!" He shook her shoulders violently. "You _can't be dead!_ " he cried. "We'll _find a way!_ "

She didn't react.

Tahu suddenly ran out of breath, and he heard his heart pounding against his head. "You're really… really gone…" Shaking, he set her down. "You're just gone. Forever." And Tahu, courageous Toa of Fire, wept. He didn't care about Onua's words of comfort, and he ignored Kopaka's hand on his shoulder, not even bothering to shake it off. Nothing mattered anymore—Okoto could go to the Shadow Realm for all he cared. His love was gone. Nobody could replace her.

"Hang on."

Tahu ignored Kopaka—no, he did _not_ want to "hang on."

"I think she's still alive."

All of a sudden, Tahu very much wanted to hang on.

* * *

"Glad you brought her here when you did," Kiril said, rinsing off the dirt on Gali's worst wound. "It's easy for anyone to assume she was dead—she looks awful."

"Hey!"

"Tahu, he's referring to her wounds," Kopaka said with utmost grace.

Tahu's eyebrows raised exaggeratedly. "Ahhh. _That's_ a little better. I guess."

Kopaka rolled his eyes. After a quick nod, he turned away. "Can she heal completely, Kiril?"

"I'm not sure. Those freaks tore her throat, and it doesn't look good. She can't talk for a week at least. She should have her voice back by then, but there's a slim chance it'll ever sound the same again."

"Do you know exactly how different?" asked Onua.

Kiril sighed, putting the water bowl away. "Hard to say. The slashes are upward, so I'd assume her voice would be higher in pitch. Still, most of the scratches are shallow, and she can easily recover from those. The deeper wounds may take longer, but again, no permanent damage."

"I don't know how we can ever repay you," Kopaka said, bowing.

"Um…" Kiril glanced at Gali. "You know I'm not finished, right?"

Kopaka blinked. "Of course I knew that. I'm simply thanking you in advance for your help."

"I see," Kiril replied after a beat. "But remember I also need to help Lewa."

"Oh?"

"Not only is his leg worse, but he's also suffering from prolonged mask-loss. You're lucky he didn't fall into a coma."

Onua let out a long sigh. "May I see him?"

"I can't guarantee you'll get a response from him, but sure. He's right that way."

* * *

Lewa's breaths were ragged and harsh. Every rising of his chest sent a fresh wave of dizziness, sickening him to his stomach. But even worse was the constant, pounding pain in his head. It felt like a tree fell on his face in each painful pulse. But the sheer loneliness he felt seemed the most painful.

Lewa muttered an obscenity, then relaxed. After he'd said how he felt, he actually felt a lot better. And the best part was, nobody could shame him for saying it.

Experimentally, he said the word again, but a little louder. He giggled, saying the profanity another time. As his confidence in swearing grew, so did his volume.

He was describing how he felt, loudly and in colorful detail, when the door swung open. He froze.

Onua somehow portrayed shock, disgust, and despair using just his eyes.

Lewa said the word again, but using a different context.

"What has that _thing_ done to you?" Onua whispered, his arms falling limply to his sides.

Lewa cleared his throat. "Geez, um—wow, how—how'd I say that? Must've misspoken—yeah. Meant to say _shoot_. Goodness, I can't buh-leeev I said something so awful. I should watch my gosh-darn mouth next time!"

Onua wasn't convinced.

"Okay, look," Lewa said, closing his eyes as the dizziness set back in. "I couldn't take it anymore—the headache, the wooziness, the loneliness. Simple as that. And I figured just saying 'Well, this sucks' wouldn't cut it, y'know? Don't you feel like that sometimes—like you just need to swear to take that pain away, even if it's just a little relief?"

"No, I've never felt like that. I think Kiril should check you a second time. And once you're out of this place, You and I are due for a little _talk_."

The wolf taking over Lewa's mind was one thing. Tahu accusing him of 'fake-crying' was another. But somehow, Onua telling him they needed "a little talk" was a whole new _level_ of terrifying. It didn't help that he wanted to swear again.

"Well," Onua said at length, "I'm off to get Kiril. Be good, alright?"

Lewa sighed, closing his eyes. "Yes, 'Mom.' I promise to not _break_ anything."

Onua replied with a sigh similar to Lewa's, then left.

Although Lewa felt like letting out a long string of profanities, he didn't want to break his word.

"Well," he said eventually, "this sucks."

* * *

He was vulnerable. His friend had paid the price for being slow, becoming trapped in a weak, two-legged form.

But Pohatu was faster. Still, sunlight shone all around him, and future pack members were beginning to go out. He dearly wished he could free them, show what they were missing out on. But he knew what would happen if but one paw touched the light.

Pohatu growled in annoyance. He didn't want to risk staying in one place, but he'd have to, lest the sunlight touch. And unfortunately, he couldn't just _nap_ until night. The sun moved, so so would he.

Slowly, he curled himself into a ball. He may have not been able to sleep through the day, but at least he could rest. Who knows? Maybe someone would wander into his forest, where he could teach them to be free. The only problem would be keeping them here until moonrise. Of course, he could try to convince them to stay—but the last time he did that to someone, they screamed and ran away.

Pohatu began to growl again. He'd been stupid not to give up on formalities. Why bother calling them when they were _clearly_ the type of person to ignore the truth? He should have clawed them right then and there, when there was still a sliver of moonlight.

As the hour dragged by, Pohatu had to shift his position ever so slightly. And he'd just become comfortable, too. The hardest part was uncurling without touching any sunlight. Pohatu didn't mind doing that—it kept things interesting. It was just the tedious task of finding the safest place to rest.

Just as he was laying in the perfect spot, his ears pricked up. Someone was shouting—in his direction. "There it is—grab those torches!"

Pohatu stopped, watching the panicked Okotans. Perhaps they weren't talking about him.

But a few minutes later, he was proven wrong. People were all around him, flaming torches in hand. The smoke smelled terrifying.

Pohatu continued to lie down, playing it cool. He let out a long sigh, which made the four Okotans jump back a little. They quickly re-surrounded him.

"Alright," one of the villagers finally said. "Drell, would you get the rope? I'll make sure it doesn't move."

"I'm not an _it_ ," Pohatu muttered.

The Ketaran named Drell rolled his eyes. "We weren't talking about you, Panya."

Panya blinked. "Me? What did _I_ do?"

"Forget it. Here it is." From a large, leather pack, Drell took out a thick coil of rope.

That was when Pohatu realized: only _he_ had to stay in shadow. The Okotans could go into the sunlight, even _if_ he prepared to free them.

The wolf attacked.

* * *

"He _what?_ " Tahu gasped, arms slumping in abject disbelief. "But he's—Lewa's the _least_ mature of us!"

"I'm afraid that may be the point," Onua sighed.

"Actually," Kopaka said, pacing around the room, "I have reason to believe Lewa _isn't_ mentally the youngest of us."

Tahu shot up to his feet. "Hey! Are you implying what I _think_ you're implying?"

"Brilliant deduction."

"Oh, yeah?" Tahu whipped out his twin swords. "Well, _no one_ calls Gali stupid on _my_ watch!"

It took longer than it should have for Kopaka to figure out the import of Tahu's sentence. "What? No, I wasn't calling—"

"No, of course not—the word _stupid_ is too short. Gali's _unintelligent_. She's too _parasympathetic_ to do any _corrisponding activation_ of brain cells. Is _that_ the way you'd put it?"

Kopaka sighed loudly. "That's not how you use the word _parasympathetic_."

"It includes the word _pathetic!_ "

"Yes."

"So that other word is just a long, boring way to say it!"

"No. That's not how this language works."

"You know what," Onua said, "perhaps the fact that Lewa said a bad word shouldn't be on the top of our priorities to deal with. Right now, Gali and Lewa need to be looked after, and someone has to find Pohatu. He may need some help, too—there's no telling _what_ injuries he's gone through."

"There's probably wounds he got weeks ago and didn't tell us about," Tahu scoffed. "Twelve, at least."

"Don't be ridiculous," Kopaka said, his tone sounding as if he were _agreeing_. "Anyway, I can take care of Pohatu. Onua, you can take Gali while you, Tahu, take Lewa."

" _Why?!_ "

"Tahu," Onua said patiently, "I promise to take good care of Gali, and I'm sure you'll treat Lewa the same way."

Tahu sputtered. "But—but _you're_ the one who goes with Lewa, and _I_ go with Gali! That's how things go!"

"What exactly are you implying?"

"Okay, my wording was bad, but you get it. We're not swappable. I _can't_ take care of Lewa, since that's _your_ thing."

"So I am forbidden to tend to Gali, because it's not my 'thing'?"

"Yes. No! That wasn't what I meant!"

"Of course not," Kopaka interrupted. "Until then, you two—I'll be searching for Pohatu. Take care of them, and try not to kill yourselves or people around you." He jabbed a finger into Tahu's chest, pushing him back. "That goes _double_ for you, hotshot," he hissed.

* * *

Pohatu thrashed against his bonds with all his might, but to no avail. He had rested to catch his breath, and the next thing he knew he had clawed Gali's throat beyond recognition. Another time, he had felt like passing out from exhaustion. And now here he was, with four bleeding Okotan bodies before him. Thank the stars they were only unconscious, but to think _he_ did that to those he'd sworn to protect… The sheer thought was mind-numbing.

But Pohatu had no time or room to think. He had to regain control, and that required force.

Focusing all his strength into his dominant arm, he pulled it with all his strength. A sudden, cracking pain forced him to take in a sharp breath. But he wasn't giving up.

He tried again, harder. This time, he heard a loud crack come from his wrist, and agony that followed confirmed his worries. But all the same, the Toa of Stone was undaunted. He was trapped inside his mind—he wasn't going to let a mentally broken wrist slow him down. And the wolf on the outside didn't like Pohatu fighting on the inside, so it was a win-win situation: the wolf would be annoyed at best, while Pohatu would perfect the art of stoicism—in his own way.

Within two minutes, Pohatu had improved his performance drastically. Now, he could snap a rib by means of sheer self-contortion without so much as wincing. He still instinctively blinked, though, so he had to work on that. The problem was, he didn't have many ribs left to break, which really was a shame. He could try his neck, but that could knock him out or paralyze him, leaving the wolf to be more comfortable. _That_ wouldn't do. He could break his arms in a few _different_ spots, but they could barely move as is.

Pohatu could hear the wolf growling.

It was guarding its prey against a Toa of Ice.


	6. The Light at the End

Kopaka kept his gaze on the injured villagers, glancing every so often at whom he assumed was Pohatu. The "freed" Toa growled, tense from head to tail.

"Cool down," Kopaka said, partially to himself. "You need some help, and we have it. Just come with us, and we'll make you better."

"By locking us up?" 'Pohatu' snarled, teeth bared. His voice was a horrifying amalgamation between his usual low, gravelly sternness and a bestial growl. The fact that the mix _worked_ so well didn't help.

The wolf continued. "I see through your trrickery, Ice Toa. You think you are frreeing him, but he does not know how to frree himself. Are you rreally able to help, or is what you say a fantasy to give you hope?"

"You don't know him like I do."

"Do you? We don't think so. We know him better than anyone else—even himself. He only has to accept this body, and his shackles will brreak. He will contrrol this body. I am only here to help him learn."

"You're one _sick_ teacher."

"The Stone Toa is brreaking his own limbs because he can. Do you rreally want me to frree him now?"

"You said he already _was_ free."

"He will be, once he accepts this body and the call of the pack."

"Pohatu's more stubborn than you think, wolf."

"No, more than _you_ think. As I said, he is brreaking his own limbs. It annoys me." A few seconds after speaking, the wolf seemed to wince. He let out a low growl as he said, "It annoys me a great deal." He cringed again, shaking his head distractedly.

Now was Kopaka's chance. Thrusting his spear into the ground, he forced himself into the air, over 'Pohatu's' head and in front of one of the villagers. He grabbed the Okotan, who luckily didn't weigh much. But since he had lost momentum, getting back to the light would be tricky—especially since 'Pohatu' had snapped out of it, and was darting toward them.

Kopaka didn't have time to think. He put out a leg—to trip the wolf?

Whatever plan went through Kopaka's head certainly didn't work. Before he knew it, he was on the ground, with the wolf on his chest, growling. "Move, and I'll bite your neck," he said, the sternness in his tone hard as rock.

Kopaka almost felt like growling back, but kept it in. "You've hurt these villagers more than you realize. They could die before nightfall."

"I only did what was necessary. You only bluff."

"You're accusing me of lying?"

"Anyone can lie. You are no exception, Ice Toa."

This time Kopaka _did_ growl. "Even to a monster like you, I'd never lie. If I say, 'They're in danger,' they're in danger. If I say, 'I'm going to move,' I'll move. And you know what? I'm going to prove it by doing just that." _This is a terrible idea_ , he thought.

Kopaka was right. The moment he rolled to the side, 'Pohatu' snapped his head forward, sinking his fangs into his neck with deadly accuracy. With a violent jerk Kopaka cried out, surprised and in pain. But his shouts soon became gasps. He struggled to breathe. His lens whirred and spun erratically as he tried to focus. Through a dark, fuzzy blur, he could see the wolf stumble off him and to the floor, collapsing next to him. He heard 'Pohatu' tell him something, but he didn't process the words until the next time he woke up.

* * *

"So… how's stuff?"

"Boring," Lewa replied with a sigh. "I mean, I still get more glances than _other_ Toa, so that's a plus. Still, bedridden just because of a lost mask?"

Tahu nodded. "I feel you, man. But it's better than _standing_ maskless."

"Yes. I suppose I'm blaming my body more than anything else." Lewa stretched his arms. "At least I don't feel like I'm _dying_ anymore. Swearing must have helped."

"Um, yeah. About that…"

Lewa stopped mid-stretch. "Don't tell me Onua's grounding me!" he groaned.

"What? Of course not—he can't do that! Only your _leader_ has the right." Tahu grinned.

"No-no-no, _please_ don't! Can't you just make me eat glass or something?"

"Relax—I swear, too. Just play it off and I'll let you be un-grounded in the evenings."

"Wait… what? Wh— _You_ swear?"

Tahu laughed. "You pure, innocent little thing! You need to be near me more often—take notes in your head. Then, you'll know how to badmouth every—"

Onua opened the door.

"—ing day," Tahu finished, completely oblivious to Onua's appearance. "Anyway, I'm off to check on Gali. Remember, just roll with 'getting grounded,' and you'll be all set up for—oh. Hey, Onua."

* * *

"About time."

Kopaka's eyes snapped open at Pohatu's voice. Jolting to a sitting position, he scanned the clearing with his eyes. He was in a compact, almost cubic room, with shelf after shelf of herbal concoctions almost appearing to litter the walls—there was no apparent sense of order in any row. Whoever lived in this place must have been very untidy. But despite that, the floor was surprisingly clean. The stone was warm and smooth against his feet…

Feet?

Kopaka felt stupid for not realizing until now he didn't have any armor on… or anything. Grabbing the blanket next to him, he stood and quickly tied it around his waist. Something was _definitely_ off.

Perhaps the strangest part of this conundrum— _second strangest,_ Kopaka corrected, glancing down—was that he didn't feel injured in any way. He felt slightly dizzy from masklessness, but that wouldn't cause any real problems until an hour or two later. His breathing was calm and steady, when the last time he remembered it was short and sharp, each fruitless breath dragging him closer into unconsciousness.

But now wasn't the time to reminisce. He had to know where he was, how he got there, and how to get back with the other Toa. But where had his armor and mask gone?

"Glad to see you're awake," Pohatu said, entering the room from a door that looked like part of the wall. "Any pain?"

It took many seconds for Kopaka to gather his words. When he finally spoke, his voice was as blunt as his sentence. "Where's my armor?"

"Your armor? I've gotten the blood stains out of it—mostly. It doesn't look like some stupid wolf _mauled_ you or something ridiculous, so I'm easy with that. I'll grab it for you."

Pohatu walked off, returning with an armful of armor. He dumped it at Kopaka's feet. "Now," he said, "Are you going to tell me whether you feel any pain—particularly in your neck?"

Kopaka slipped into his torso armor. "I'm fine. Thanks for cleaning my armor."

"Saying you're 'fine' doesn't answer my question. Do you _feel_ any _pain?_ "

"No."

"That's all I needed to know." Pohatu took a seemingly specific herb from one of the endless shelves. After scrunching it into small bits with his hand, he sat on the bed and briefly gestured Kopaka to sit with him. "And you can breathe well?"

Kopaka nodded as he sat down.

Pohatu sighed. "Good to hear. That's what I'd been worried about. To _keep_ it well, I need to put this on. Turn your head this way."

As he obliged, Kopaka remarked, "I didn't know you were an herbologist."

"I'm not, but I have a friend. Turns out being forced to remember plant names has its benefits. Hold still, it doesn't hurt _nearly_ as much as your movements suggest."

"My neck's sensitive."

"Well, make it _less_ sensitive."

It took around a minute for Pohatu to finish. "That would have been shorter," he huffed, "if you didn't _squirm_ as much."

Kopaka closed his eyes, rolling them under their lids. "At least it's over. Now, where are we?"

"My study."

"Your study?"

"Yes. I go here to think and treat my wounds."

"I see." Kopaka looked around at the shelves of herbs. It must have taken forever to gather them all into one place. "To treat your wounds, you say?" he asked, eyes on the plants.

Pohatu nodded. "I usually arrange those by injury type. Sometimes they're sorted by—don't touch that—by how they should be applied. But usually, it's by injury."

Now that he saw the means of the sorting, Kopaka found the shelves far cleaner and more organized. The herbs directly next to the jars of liquid still bothered him, though.

Kopaka finished donning his armor. "Which way to the city?"

"Just southeast of here," answered Pohatu. "Has Lewa been treated?"

"Yes, I believe so."

"With cinquefoil?"

"Definitely. I don't know about those villagers, though. They didn't look good, last I saw them."

"I took care of them."

" _I'll_ say you did, Pohatu."

"You're the worst. I'll see how they're doing." Pohatu walked outside the room, closing the door. "You can explore anywhere, but don't take or rearrange anything," he called behind the door. "It took days to sort it all."

After a quick "Alright," Kopaka walked to the window. A vast expanse of sand stretched out from him to the dark mountains in the distance, with the occasional burnt brown bush or prickly pear dotting the desert's surface. Between Pohatu's study and the mountains, there was a village, where Kopaka could see tiny dots of children playing a game that looked similar to soccer. Kopaka zoomed in with his telescopic lens. Whatever the game was, the players had clearly practiced this. They moved quickly and coordinately, and a row of spectators nearby held their breath.

These players weren't children. This was an official match.

Kopaka watched until one of the Okotans won a round. The crowds jumped out of their seats, punching the air and probably jabbering in Pohatu's accent, which was its own language alone. He had overheard a villager of Stone conversing with another once, and he could barely hear two cohesive words come from their mouths. And it wasn't just their nearly incomprehensible accents—the mannerisms and metaphors they used were so obscure and strange it was harder than ever to tell what they were saying. And he didn't want to _start_ with slang. It was a wonder he could understand Pohatu—but then again, his accent wasn't _nearly_ as thick, and he refrained from using slang whenever possible. To be fair, he also refrained from _speaking_ whenever possible.

"They're good to go," Pohatu said, swinging the door open. "Let's take them back to the city. Can you carry two?"

Kopaka snorted. "If I could whack Tahu into a wall with just my spear, of _course_ I can carry them."

"I wasn't doubting that." Pohatu gestured to Kopaka's throat. "Your injuries could prove difficult in _keeping on_ holding them."

"That hasn't stopped _you_ at times."

"Too right. But I'm _me_."

Kopaka blinked. "How?"

"How am I me?"

"Yes. The last time I saw you, you were tearing my throat out."

Pohatu sighed. "I'm really sorry about that—literally didn't know what I was thinking. But believe it or not, you saved me by letting that happen. It was broad daylight when the wolf talked to you. At the same time, its attention drew to the shadows it lay in." A smile formed on his face, faint as a mirage. "It didn't expect you to move. When you did, you diverted its attention. It forgot the patches of sunlight. You can figure out what happened next."

Kopaka nodded slowly. "Wrong step."

"Exactly," Pohatu replied. "And for that, I can't thank you enough."

If there were one point in Kopaka's life where he felt proud, this could have been it. "And I to you, for patching me up. Now, let's get some Okotans home."

"Couldn't put it better myself."

* * *

When the Toa arrived in the city, they were met with a great deal of gusto from Onua. Both Pohatu and Kopaka silently agreed, with a shared glance at each other, not to tell the Toa of Earth about what happened. Luckily, the villagers had woken in their arms a few minutes beforehand, and had walked the rest of the way after many thanks for saving their group from "that vicious wolf."

"I'm so glad you found him," Onua said, clapping a hand the size of Kopaka's boot onto his shoulder. "And not a scratch on either of you—what a pleasant surprise!"

"Thank you," Pohatu said, his tone uncertain. "How are the others?"

Onua's gaze averted sheepishly. "Oh dear, I'm afraid none of them can come at the moment. Gali and Lewa are bedridden—as is Tahu, after I became _disappointed_ in him."

Kopaka shuddered. "What did he _do?_ "

"He said the most _dreadful_ things regarding him and Lewa tricking us in some way. And he used _terrible_ language!"

"That would do it," Pohatu said with a sigh. "Bugger. We've got three Toa out of commission, and one of them is our leader, even if a self-proclaimed one."

"If you're worried about the wolf attacks," Onua said, "I'm not particularly worried about that, as they've never attacked in broad daylight before."

"Of course not. They'd change back if they tried that."

"Change back…" Onua closed his eyes in concentration. "Of course. What if… Yes, I've got it!"

"Hm?" Both Toa said in unison.

"Kopaka, do you know where the wolves' den is?" asked Onua, beginning to smile.

Slowly, Kopaka nodded. "In a cave northeast of here. What are you getting at?"

"I can create a slow cave-in, rock by rock. The wolves are smart enough to know when to leave a collapsing den, and once they step into the outdoor sunlight, they'll all be saved!" Onua clapped his hands together, grinning at the sheer thought. "I'm unsure whether I can do it myself, but what are friends for, eh, Pohatu?"

Pohatu blinked at his name being called. "Er—yes. I can help with that."

"Brilliant! Shall we go, then?"

"I don't know." Pohatu glanced around. "With only three Toa? Only two of us can help with this cave-in, but…"

"I see what you mean," Onua murmured. "We can get Lewa back fairly easily—he only needs his mask and weapons, and I know where both are. Pohatu, you're fastest next to Gali. Can you get them? They're in his room. In the meantime, Kopaka can check on Gali while I coax Tahu out of his misery, as that was my fault. Shall we meet at the cave's entrance?"

"Sounds like a plan," Kopaka said. "Let's do this."

* * *

No awkwardness. No mistakes. Just a routine check-up on the Toa of Water. The choice of Kopaka being sent was completely, entirely practical. This was no time for emotions.

Despite these and many more thoughts swimming in Kopaka's head, they didn't slow his heart by one beat, which frustrated him. He didn't have _time_ for this. Feelings, especially whatever he was feeling now, got in the way of rational thought. It was difficult to gather a single thought, let alone think of what to _say_. But then again, Gali wasn't conscious, so he shouldn't be worrying…

Gali stirred.

Scratch that.

* * *

"Her condition is going as well as can be expected," Kopaka told Onua as they reached the cave entrance. "Kiril told me. I didn't have to look over her. At all."

Onua gave a smile—it looked very knowing. "It's good to know she's well. And as you can very well see—"

"WE'RE BACK!" Tahu declared, grabbing Lewa's arm. Lewa himself looked happy but somewhat uncomfortable.

"That's nice." Kopaka shuffled his feet. "We have all Toa available here. Onua, Pohatu: ready?"

"You've got it," Onua said. Closing his eyes, he put one hand around Pohatu's and set the other hand on the ground. Pohatu mirrored his movements flawlessly. A strange glow emanated from the two Toas' fingertips, creating a small web of cracks along the ground. These cracks slowly spread out like the lines in a lightning bolt.

After splitting into nearly a million fragments, the cracks coalesced, merging into a single fissure. Then the cracks disappeared, and silence fell.

Kopaka blinked. "Did anything happen?"

"It should," said Onua under his breath. "Be patient. They should arrive any second…"

And within moments, that second had come. Sounds of paws running on rock began to thunder, growing louder as they approached.

Without warning, a dark flurry of wolves sprang out of the main fissure, howling. As the Toa watched, each one trembled as they collapsed and began to change shape. Within a minute, two dozen Okotans were getting up from where they lay, dazed and amazed.

"We're… we're back!" one villager said, breaking the others' silent spell. Voices erupted in the place all at once, crying out with joy and praising the stars. The villagers thanked the Toa profusely as they all walked to the city.

Finally, the Toas' job was done—for now, at least. After thanking the Toa almost as much as the Okotans, Ekimu had let them know of the new weapons, masks, and armor he'd been working on while they had been on their adventure. He wanted them to try the new creations right away, but Tahu had atypically declined, saying they had to wait until Gali had recovered.

That was a lucky break to Kopaka. Now, he wouldn't have to spend an additional few hours trying on armor and testing the weapons. After countless sleepless nights, he could finally wind down.

And wind down he did, as he slept in a calm, undisturbed nap.


	7. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

"A bright young lad at seventeen," the elderly Okotan whispered to himself. "The nights've only grown colder without ya, son." He raised his mug of seidu to the painting his only child had never finished. "Still," he said slowly, after taking a sip from his mug, "I don't think yer dead. Yer too _stubborn_ for that." He took another swig. "Missing fer a few months? Bet that'll grow ya into a _real_ man."

The cold night air blew through the window, sending a chill into the old man. _Nights really are getting colder,_ he thought. His hands fumbled before he could get a firm grip on the wolf pelt those kind protectors had given him a few days ago. With its warmth wrapped entirely around him, he couldn't help smiling.

Though he had no idea why, his son had never felt so close.


End file.
